


Traitorous

by BurntKloverfield



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Ben Solo is a Disney Prince, Ben Solo is awkward but he's trying, Ben is the best father and is trying so hard, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Dancing, Domestic, Everyone is now family and they are gonna stick together, F/M, Facepainting, Fair Food, Fair typical shenanigans, Fluff, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Ghost Leia Organa, He just loves Rey so much, It’s a roller coaster between domestic cuteness and chaotic angst, Kidnapping, Leia Organa Dies, Mitaka is an angel alright?, Nope now Snoke's dead, Or Is he?, Pregnancy, Rey and Ben love each other but the galaxy won’t let them live their domestic dreams, Rey and Ben run away from everything, Rey is just awesome, Rey's a boss, Snoke's Not Dead Shia Surprise!, Swimming, The Force Bond is the best thing to happen to Star Wars since Star Wars, Triplets, Well Hux is most def dead, Wookies, and so does Ben, i love rey, proposal, there is more domestic cuteness to come but there’s a war going on just outside their door
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2019-06-13 16:32:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 48,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15368709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurntKloverfield/pseuds/BurntKloverfield
Summary: The Force Bond is no longer a secret. Rey is now in mortal danger from those she thought her friends. Ben Solo comes to the rescue.





	1. Take Me Away

“I don’t care! It’s still cheating!” Rey sighed annoyedly, staring at the Dejarik table, contemplating her move. 

 

“You only think it’s cheating because you won’t.” Kylo Ren set his feet up on the side of the console as he waited for her. Rey saw his father in the little mannerism. 

 

“I won’t invade your mind and I expect you not to invade mine.” She finally made her move, grinning as her little alien beat up his. 

 

“It’s not invasion. It’s like reading your face. It’s all surface emotions that you’re practically broadcasting anyways.”

 

“Says the man with the most emotive eyes I have ever seen.”

 

He put his feet down and looked at her. “Are they really?”

 

She nodded and smiled. She stood and scooped up a nearby Porg that was looking for things to add to their nest. “Just as big as a porg’s!” She exclaimed. She returned to her seat, the porg now cuddling in her lap. The man across the table now hung his head, trying to hide his blushing cheeks as he considered his next move. “Awww, I embarrassed the big bad Supreme Leader,” Rey cooed. 

 

Suddenly he looked up at her. “Someone’s coming.”

 

“My side or yours?” Rey whispered, trying to listen. 

 

“Yours.”

 

Rey nodded and made her move and flipped the dejarik table off. 

 

“Who were you talking to?” Poe Dameron asked, rubbing his bleary eyes. Poe, Finn, Rose, and Leia had decided to stay on the Falcon when they had found themselves on a forested planet where an old Rebel Base had been abandoned. Most of the other Resistance Fighters were now camped out under stars. 

 

“The porg,” Rey supplied, nuzzling the little bird thing into a hug. The porg cooed at Rey. 

 

“You called the Porg Supreme Leader?” Poe asked, frowning. 

 

Rey nodded. “He was being difficult.”

 

Ben flashed a glare at Rey. He couldn’t see who Rey was talking to, but he could hear echoes through the Force Bond. 

 

Rey tried to ignore him, but Poe saw her eyes flick to him. Rather, Poe saw her eyes flick to the empty bench. 

 

“Do you mind if I play with you? I’m too awake, now.” Poe took the seat where Ben was sitting. Rey had to cover her mouth and pretend to cough when Ben lifted his hand and brushed his hair back but ended up making Poe look like he had just walked through a holocom conversation and had collected an extra arm. 

 

“I was actually just about to go to bed,” she lied. 

 

“One game won’t hurt.“

 

Rey shook her head. “Yeah it will.”

 

“You’re just afraid you’ll lose,” Poe laughed and turned the dejarik table on. 

 

Rey stood. “I think it has an AI you can play against.”

 

“It’s more exciting with a real person.”

 

Rey nodded. “Then I’ll play with you some other time.”

 

Poe leaned forward. “I really don’t think you were talking to the porg,” he said, nodding to the animal in her arms who promptly yelled in reply. “Who were you talking to?”

 

“It’s none of your business, Poe,” Rey insisted, already walking past him. 

 

“I don’t know how the Force works, but if you’re fratrinizing with the Supreme Leader, I’m going to have to detain you, Rey.” He reached out and took her arm. “If you are, you are putting yourself, myself, and every other Resistance fighter in danger. So it is my business.”

 

“You’re right, Poe. You don’t know how the Force works. So let go of me.” She immediately used the force to push his fingers off her arm, and at his cry of pain, she felt a surge of glee that she had used so much power. This was shortly followed with sorrow that she had hurt him. This was short lived as she was now stalking away from him to her bunk. 

 

“You broke my fingers!” Poe shouted. 

 

“Don’t touch me again,” Rey growled. 

 

“Rey?” Finn wearily called out from the door to his cabin. “Poe? What’s going on?” 

 

“None of anyone’s business!” Rey sighed, stalking past him. 

 

* * *

 

Ben wasn’t sure of what happened, but his heart sunk when the next time the Force bond initiated, it was to a Rey with a tear stained face and a porg that was trying to cuddle her. 

 

“Why are you crying?” He whispered, falling to his knees in front of her. 

 

“They know, all of them, all of the Resistance. They know about the Force connection.” 

 

“And...?”

 

“They’ve deemed me a traitor.”

 

“Where are you?” He pleaded. 

 

“A detainment cell. Your mother is trying to plead my case. Most others want me ...” her voice faltered. 

 

“Come with me,” he said, finding tears in his own eyes. “Let me take you away.”

 

“I may be pardoned, Ben. If I disappear, then I can never come back.”

 

“Then leave! They aren’t a protection! They’re a parasite! They feed off your power! Off your soul!”

 

“And the First Order is any different?” 

 

“I didn’t ask you to join the First Order.”

 

“You’re the Supreme Leader of the First Order, Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren, Jedi Killer. What would I be joining?”

 

“Me!” He softened. “Just me. Ben Solo.”

 

Rey reached out to cup his face, shivering as he became solid. “Where would you take me?”

 

“Far away. From everything, everyone.”

 

“What would we do?”

 

“Be free.”

 

“You aren’t free, are you?”

 

“As long as there is a First Order or a Resistance, I will never be free when I reside in either side.”

 

“Take me away, Ben. Take me far far away.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Escape

Rey found herself holding her breath more and more in her cell. She had heard nothing all day. Her only solace was the little porg that had decided to come with her. 

 

“Morg,” Rey sighed, cuddling the little bird, “I’m glad you’re with me. I hope your family isn’t missing you…”

 

A slight tap on the cell door surprised her, and it slid open just enough for Finn to slide in. “I’m here to rescue you.”

 

Rey’s eyes filled up with tears, again. She pushed into his arms, letting the porg flutter to the ground. 

 

“Hurry, we’re on Leia’s orders,” Finn whispered. 

 

“She couldn’t convince them?”

 

“She convinced me, and Rose, and Chewbacca.”

 

Rey nodded. “What’s the plan?”

 

“You disappear, a single ship, a droid.” Finn tapped on the door, and it slid open again. He tugged her out, keeping a tight hold of her hand. 

 

Rose smiled at her and brought her into a tight hug. “I’ll miss you,” she said. 

 

“Me too,” Rey said, eyeing the unconscious guard on the floor. 

 

“Hurry,” Finn urged. “Leia is waiting in the hangar.”

 

Rose nodded. “Bye Rey,” she said before stalking the other direction, keeping an eye out.

 

Finn was panting as they reached the hangar, and Rey felt the tension thicken. 

 

“Leia, what are you doing here?” They heard Poe Dameron ask. 

 

“There was an inkling in the Force, Poe,” Leia said simply. “I could ask you the same.”

 

“Rounds,” Poe returned. 

 

“You’re not on rounds tonight,” Leia said knowingly. “You’re looking for Kaydel, aren’t you?”

 

They heard him chuckle and shuffle his feet. “No…we’re not…”

 

“She willingly followed you into a mutiny, Poe. If that’s not love, it may be loyalty, but it looks like love.”

 

Rey looked up at Finn, who put an arm around her. 

 

“I’ll find you again,” Finn whispered. 

 

“One day,” Rey nodded. “But let’s get me out of here first.”

 

He steadied his jaw and nodded. “I have an idea. Stay here until the coast is clear.”

 

He immediately dashed from their hiding place, using his already labored breathing to his advantage. “Rey’s gone! Her cell’s empty! Porg gone and all!”

 

Poe set a hand on his blaster on his hip. “Search the base!”

 

Leia nodded. “If you would, Poe? Lead the way.”

 

Poe nodded in return, already striding towards the cell block. The moment that the footsteps were on soft ground rather than duristeel, Rey left her hiding place to find Leia waiting for her. 

 

Leia smiled and gestured to the ship closest to the exit. The blue droid R2-D2 rolled out from behind it. “Take good care of my son,” she said.

 

Rey threw her arms around Leia. 

 

“I don’t know what you can do with them,” Leia said, pulling the broken kyber crystal halves from her robes and pressed them into Rey’s hands, “but I know you will use them better than I can. Hurry, before they’re back.”

 

Rey smiled with tears in her eyes, turning and scrambling up into the cockpit. She heard R2-D2 take its place in the ship, and she took off. She tried to reach out for Ben through the Force as she left the atmosphere. She just felt tired, now that the initial danger and adrenaline was gone. 

 

“R2, can you keep us out of trouble? I need to get some sleep. I can’t believe I did that, that I’m doing this.”

 

R2-D2 beeped an affirmative. Rey curled up in the pilot seat, trying to meditate until sleep took over. 

* * *

“What do you mean the Supreme Leader is missing?” General Hux sneered at the underling, Mitaka if he cared to remember the name. “I thought I told you to keep tabs on him.”

 

“W-w-w-we are,” Mitaka stuttered. “The tracking has all gone dead.”

 

Hux tensed and turned towards the viewport. “Well, find him.”

 

“Yes, General,” Mitaka returned, practically running away from the sneering man. 

 

Ben stood a little straighter in the trooper armor. He was not going to allow himself to be trailed when he finally decided to abandon this world that he had let absorb his entire life. His eyes trailed after Mitaka as he found his own way down to the hangars. He was going to be a phantom, a ghost, leave no trace. He had allowed Hux to track his movements. He knew the weasel wanted him dead. Hux wanted the Supremacy. Let him have it. 

 

Ben easily got rid of the two workers on the small craft he chose. They would not remember him. He maneuvered the ship out with a few others in a squadron leaving for practice runs. He took the advantage of the faulty comm in the ship and slipped out of formation without much notice as he hadn’t given a call sign. 

 

Suddenly, Rey’s slow consistent breathing came to him. He glanced behind him, and Rey was curled up where ever she was, asleep. He gently reached out to touch her, to wake her. She shot up, sitting straight up in her chair unseen to him. 

 

“Are you alright?” He whispered.

 

At his voice, she relaxed. “Yes.”

 

“Any news?”

 

She reached out to him, silently begging for him to touch her. “I’m scheduled for execution,” she started the tale. 

 

He took her hand, and he ran his thumb over her fingers as she told him all about Leia’s plan getting her off world with the help of Finn and Rose and R2-D2. 

 

“Stay out of sight, Rey,” he instructed. “I’m coming for you.” He pressed his lips to the back of her hand in his hand.


	3. The Kind Little SandChildren

Rey had taken over control of her little ship, and she tried not to let her mind wander to all the horror she had just gone through. She had believed in the Resistance, in hope and good in the Galaxy. And she was now a fugitive. She shook her head and continued on the directory towards a small outer rim planet that R2-D2 had informed her would be devoid enough of life that she could hide, at least until Ben could find her. When asked what planet, R2 beeped ‘Tatooine.’

 

Rey knew the name from legends. The home of Luke Skywalker, where Anakin Skywalker had lived as a child slave, the hiding place of an Obi-Wan Kenobi, a planet under control of the Hutts, too far out of the way for the First Order, too lawless for the Resistance. 

 

And as they approached, her heart dropped to view all the sand. She could have cried. “Is there anywhere else, R2?” She whispered. 

 

R2 beeped something about a safe place and a home of old masters. 

 

“I don’t care about your old masters, R2,” she whined. “I don’t want to see a desert ever again!”

 

R2 whistled sadly, insisting that she would be safe here. 

 

“I know, R2, I know.”

 

Landing was inconsequential, as was traveling through rocky outcrops to an abandoned hut. 

 

“This belonged to Obi-Wan Kenobi?” Rey repeated surprised. She pushed the door open to find it bare and covered in a layer of sand. Anything that could be stolen had been. It was a small dwelling, larger than her AT-AT, though. 

 

She felt a life signature coming closer, and she slipped behind the door she had left open. The droid followed suit, backing into a dim closet. 

 

She had been wrong, several life signatures. The cry of a Tusken Raider sent a pit of fear straight to her soul. A smaller one replied. The first entered the hut, and Rey clicked the safety off her blaster, drawing the sandperson’s attention. She fired, killing the creature, but the others were quick to anger. The smaller one she had heard rammed the door against the wall, trapping her as the other ones shrieked. One fell to mourn the dead one, and the others were quick to drag her from hiding, slamming her against the wall, trying to knock her unconscious as she kicked and screamed and tried to get the upper hand. The sand person threw her out of the hut, and she tumbled over the rough terrain, fell from a short ledge, and struggled to roll to her feet. She was surrounded by the rest of the tribe, and a club to her head made her vision go dark. 

* * *

Ben felt for Rey’s Force signature, in the vastness of space. She had given him her coordinates, but she had been on the move. He scanned star maps that had been uploaded to the ship’s databanks, and he frowned as a single word stood out to him. “Of all the Forcesaken places for her to end up, did it really have to be Tatooine,” he lamented to the Force as he set his course. He pushed the ship into Hyperdrive and watched the stars streak past. 

 

He relaxed when he felt the Force Bond initiate, and he looked around for Rey. She was on the floor behind him, strangely tied up and unconscious. “No no no no no no.” He rolled from his seat to the floor beside her. He patted her cheeks gently, grimacing at the growing bruises over her head and arms and body. “Please wake up.” She gave a rattling breath, not waking up any time soon. Ben ran his hands over her skin, examining her wounds, and he pressed his forehead to hers, trying to reach across the space between them to listen with her ears and to feel with her skin and to take what pain he could from her. As he wormed his senses through her Force Signature, he heard the cry of a Tusken Raider. His chest constricted with horror. He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and returned to the pilot seat. He could do nothing now. He had to get to her. 

* * *

Rey slipped in and out of consciousness. She recognized screams from the raiders. She heard crackling fires. A cooling touch brushed over her forehead. A calm claimed her heart. She blearily opened her eyes and saw several small raider faces peering at her. Children. They were Tusken Raider children. 

 

“Let me go,” she rasped, twisting in her bounds. 

 

The children looked at each other and back at Rey. The littlest one brought her a small cup with a sliver of water in the bottom.

 

Another child screeched at them, and a third slapped their hand over the other’s mask, instructing them to be quiet.

 

The littlest raider child brought the water up to her mouth and carefully poured it in, not spilling a drop. 

 

“Thank you,” she whispered. 

 

The littlest raider child brought sand and dust in front of it and took a handful, rubbing it into a cut that was still oozing slow deep maroon blood. She hissed at he pain, and the child put a hand to her mouth.

 

“Quiet, yes,” she nodded. 

 

She fell back into her unconscious, in too much pain to worry too much for herself.

* * *

Once Ben found himself on Tatooine, it wasn’t hard to track down Rey. He could feel her through the Force, and his anxiety fueled him to the small settlement. He found himself standing on a cliff looking down at the conglomeration of huts with fires set around, cooking the little animals the tribe were preparing for the night’s supper. He remembered a story he had only heard from a third or fourth person. Anakin Skywalker had slaughtered Tusken Raiders when they had taken and killed his mother. He felt the anger and pain and the dark side as the genetic memories found his hands and his anger. He itched to ignite his saber, but he would not allow himself to fall so far. He only wanted Rey.

 

The pause he gave himself was all that was needed. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a little familiar blue and white astromech droid. It was winding between huts, following a single Tusken Raider child. Ben knelt on one knee, studying the scene below. The little child disappeared into a hut, and R2-D2 disappeared behind them. He waited, watching, eyes flicking between the hut and the other raiders milling about the fires. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he stood and spun and ignited his saber, frightening the pair of sand people scouts that were sneaking up on him. 

 

“Bring me the girl,” he said, shooting his hand out to mind trick the Tusken Raiders. They looked at each other. “And the droid,” he pushed farther. The pair turned then and scampered down into the camp. He watched as they strode straight to the hut, ignoring the protest of a sand person stoking a fire, and scaring a handful of children from the hut, followed by a screeching R2-D2. One of the sand people dashed after R2, and the other was dragging a weakly protesting Rey behind him. His anger boiled in his chest again, and he sprinted down the path he saw the pair take to meet up with the raider. He scooped Rey up into his arms, reached out for R2, pulling the droid to him with the force, and stalked away from the terror. 

* * *

“Don’t hurt them,” Rey murmured, coming back to consciousness. “They were kind little children. Let them be kind.”

 

The low laughter made her open her eyes. She took in a deep breath and winced at the overwhelming stench of bacta. “Don’t strain yourself, sweetheart,” the low voice commanded.

 

“Ben.”

 

“How’s your head?” He asked, running his hand over her forehead.

 

“Awful.”

 

“You’re safe now.”

 

She found herself laughing. “Am I really?” Her body hurt, her soul hurt, even her dry eyes hurt from wanting to cry.

 

He took her hand in his. “Let me take care of you.”

 

“What’s wrong, Ben?” She rolled to look at him through her bleary sight. 

 

He studied her and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. “I was scared.”

 

She reached out to take his cheek in her palm. 

 

“Freedom is not worth it if I’m alone,” he whispered. He stood. “You’re dehydrated.” He brought her a tall canteen. “Drink, get some sleep.”

 

R2 beeped from the doorway to the bunk. 

 

“Alright R2. I’ll be right there.” 

 

He leaned back over her to kiss her forehead again. This time, Rey twisted, putting a hand in his hair to pull his mouth to hers. She tried to deepen the kiss, but she pulled a healing cut and winced. 

 

“Shhhhh, rest,” Ben murmured, smoothing her hair away from her face. “I’m here."


	4. A Place to Call Home For Now

Rey couldn’t sit still. She could only rest so much, and she had never been one to be idle. As soon as she felt sturdy enough to walk around, she was in the copilot seat, asking where they were going. 

 

Ben gave her a smile. “A little planet, off most maps. Nothing permanent, but we can be safe there for a while.”

 

Rey reached for his hand, and he gave it willingly. “How did you leave?”

 

“the First Order? Without a trace.”

 

Rey looked forward, out the viewport. “Who’s leading it now?“

 

“It doesn’t matter.”

 

She pulled her hand away. 

 

“I told you I would take you far away. We’re leaving this fighting.”

 

“It feels wrong, Ben. We can do something.”

 

“Would what we could do be worth the cost?”

 

“Always! If someone lives, has more freedom, has hope, it is worth it!”

 

Ben looked to Rey. “We’ve only just come together, Rey. Don’t rip us apart.”

 

“We’re running away.”

 

“You can’t go back.”

 

Rey’s shoulders fell. “They want to kill me.” She acknowledged his point. 

 

“I will never let them have the chance.”

 

“Are we making a mistake?”

 

“Is it a mistake that I want to join you?”

 

Rey looked up into his eyes. “I don’t know, Ben.”

 

Ben shook his head. “We’re supposed to be together.”

 

Rey opened her mouth and closed it, deciding her rebuttal was not worth it. “What are we going to do with ourselves?”

 

“I’ve heard farming is therapeutic.”

 

Rey spun her head to look back at him, trying to imagine him tan and covered in dirt. “Farming.”

 

Ben nodded. “Maybe not yet. But one day. And not where we’re going. I don’t know when we will have to leave it.”

 

Rey suddenly perked up. “Ben, I’ve only seen a very small piece of the galaxy. Can you show me more?”

 

Ben gave her the softest smile and nodded. “I would be honored.”

* * *

The planet they landed on was indeed small, but it had forests and small towns and water. Ben landed them in a clearing near a nondescript dwelling. 

 

“What do you think?” Ben asked as he lowered the exit ramp and watched Rey scramble outside. 

 

“It’s beautiful!” She had already dashed to the field of wildflowers that rested between the ship and the little building.  She fell to her knees to smell them and examine them.

 

“I’ll have to teach you how to make a flower crown,” Ben told her, walking past her to the building. 

 

“Where is this?” 

 

“Nara 7. My parents vacationed here a handful of times when my mother grew restless in the government. I’ve only been here once before.” 

 

Rey stood and dashed to his side. “Good memories?”

 

He smiled as he ran his hand over the locking mechanism. “Better than most.” The door slid open revealing dust and plants and a small animal eating something on the table. “Well, this will take some work.”

 

The animal dashed out the door through their legs, and they made their way into the cabin. It was nothing special. Basic living quarters, kitchen, common room, a set of stairs leading up to a set of bedrooms and a refresher. And all of it was covered in plants that certainly did not belong there. 

 

“There’s life everywhere,” Rey sighed, rubbing a leaf between her fingers. “Where to begin?”


	5. Dance With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late night dance lesson

Rey and Ben soon fell into a comfortable routine. They would clean and repair their new little home, then explore the surrounding nature, spend a little time in the nearest town—only enough to gather any needed supplies—, and return to their home in progress. Ben started sharing everything he knew. He taught her how to cook every night. He taught her how to weave wildflowers into crowns. He taught her how to braid hair—usually his. He taught her which wild berries were certainly not poisonous, and he taught her how to soothe the rash that came from poison ivies and leaves. He taught her how to meditate. He taught her fighting styles. He taught her ancient history and recent history. He taught her everything that came to mind. Rey was a sponge. She had longed for so long for something more than her difficult life scrounging and waiting. Her brief belonging to the Resistance had been too hectic to even breathe. She now had someone’s undivided attention, a full belly, free time, and security. She was taken care of, and Ben was her family, well, Ben and R2. The little droid helped where it could, but its age showed. It spent most of its time plugged in to charge. 

 

One night, Ben couldn’t sleep, and Rey was too deep to be woken up so he slipped down stairs to R2’s charging station and asked if the droid could play the message of his mother. When he was very young, R2 had shown this recording to him when his mother was gone away on business. It had calmed him, and when she returned, she had told him the story of how she and her brother had made the Empire fall. He remembered that she had never revealed her connection to Darth Vader to him, but that mattered none now. He was where Vader always wanted to be: far away with his love. He watched the message on loop, remembering how he was named after this general who was so good, an embodiment of light. He had learned much later that the name meant “son of my sorrow” in some language he constantly forgot the name of. He didn’t care. The meaning was clear and had stuck. He didn’t mind so much now because it was true. 

 

“You left me,” a small teary voice accused from the stairs. Rey was rubbing tears from her eyes. 

 

“Oh Sweetheart,” he sighed, standing from his place on the floor, and going to wrap his arms around her. “Nightmare?” He asked. 

 

She nodded. “My friends wanted to kill me.”

 

He sighed and held her tighter. “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

 

She buried her face into his sleep shirt. 

 

R2-D2 beeped at them. 

 

“You can power down, R2,” Ben told the droid. He rocked slightly to comfort Rey and hummed as a thought wandered into his head. “I’ve heard talk of a celebration in the village tomorrow,” he noted. “There’s a fair and dancing.”

 

She looked up at him. “You’re saying you’d like to go?”

 

“I’m saying I’d like to dance with you, and there would be an opportunity to do so there, and I think you would enjoy it.”

 

She grinned. “You’re saying you want to go.” She hugged him tighter. “You’ll have to teach me how to dance.”

 

He chuckled. “Yes.” He nudged her a step away and took her hands in his. 

 

“Now?”

 

“As good a time as any.” He glanced over at the droid in the corner. “R2?” The droid beeped a protest. “You can stay plugged in. We just need music.”

 

The droid reluctantly started a recording, and Ben moved one hand from her hand to her hip. 

 

“Hold my shoulder,” he instructed. She smiled as she had the opportunity to run her hand up his arm and over his muscled bicep. “Are you feeling me up?”

 

She laughed. “If that’s what you call that.”

 

He smiled, tugging her a little closer. “Follow my lead. Don’t think, feel.”

 

She nodded, feeling her stomach flutter. 

 

He reached out with the Force, embracing her signature as he embraced her with his arms. She noticed him using the force to push the low table from the middle of the room to the far wall, giving them plenty of room. She looked up and found his eyes boring into hers. She felt his feet move, and she froze. 

 

“Don’t think. Follow my lead.” He lowered his mouth to her ear. “Remember in the throne room, how in sync each motion was.” He began to sway. “When we stood together and moved together.” He stepped backwards, guiding her forward. “When we turned.” He turned ninety degrees, moving her fluidly along. “When you relied on me to give you the momentum you needed.” He used the hand on her hip to guide her out to flourish and brought her back in close. “Follow me.”

 

She gave him a smirk and put her hand where his neck met his shoulder. “Don’t go where I cannot follow.” She brought him down to kiss her. 

 

 

 

 


	6. Fun at the Fair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey go to the fair.

Rey spun, letting her new dress shimmer in the sunlight. It was yellow, like the wildflowers in their field, and there was floral embroidery along the edge of the skirt, intermingling with the blossoms it passed over. 

 

Ben laughed as he finished the flower crown and stood. “Stay still, just for a moment. Let me make sure this stays.” She obediently paused and leaned her head towards him. He pleasantly braided the hair around the stems and adjusted the front most flowers to decorate her crown. “Perfect.” She beamed up at him, admiring her own crown she had braided into his hair. The yellow wildflowers against his dark waves made him look enchanting, like what Rey had imagined what a prince must look like. 

 

“I am, you know.”

 

“You’re What?”

 

“A prince. To a world long gone called Alderaan, but I am. My mother was its princess.”

 

“I didn’t say anything.” Rey said, blushing now that she found him a little more romantic.

 

He laughed and offered his arm to her. 

 

They made their way to the celebration. It was a harvest one, where the sentients showed off their produce and their livestock and their craftwork. Rey ogled the surplus. This little community had more than enough plus time to enjoy. There were couples and children and multiple generations together, mingling. 

 

Ben tugged on her arm to bring her to a food booth where a young woman, hardly old enough to be left alone to run the booth was frying breads up. There was a large stack in a basket, and Ben held up two fingers to her. The girl nodded, holding two fingers back to him. He passed the girl two little metal coins that they had started to save up from trading in the village. He took the breads and took a small bottle that was beside a gratuity jar, dropping another coin in the jar, and drizzled a golden liquid over both. He handed one to Rey and was about to leave before he thought better and grabbed a handful of napkins, just in time to wipe the sticky mess from Rey’s cheek. 

 

Suddenly, familiar voices came near, and Ben slowed his ministrations. He peered over heads and to be sure a handful of First Order Officers were chattering with each other as they wandered through the festival. He tugged Rey’s arm, and they slipped into an alley between booths. He put his arms around Rey and pointed to the group. Rey pressed her back against him, scarfing down the rest of her bread, not willing to throw away good food for a fight. Ben recognized Lieutenant Mitaka at the forefront who stopped at the frybread booth. They couldn’t hear what he said but they did hear the young woman screech “Uncle!” and rush out of the booth to hug him. 

 

“Would they recognize you?” Rey whispered. 

 

“Mitaka surely would,” he groaned. “I’m sure others would recognize me as well. I destroyed my mask shortly after you gave me the scar. If they don’t recognize my face, they’ll surely recognize the scar.”

 

Rey sighed and turned so she could hug him. “I guess we’ll have to go home.”

 

“We will not cower—.”

 

“Ben, we ran away, and we’re in hiding.”

 

He looked down at her with his large emotive eyes, then glanced away, chewing on the inside of his cheek. 

 

“You want to stay.”

 

He let out a breath that was half a laugh. “Of course I do. I want to dance with you and watch your eyes go wide when you see something you like and clean the honey off your cheek.” He took another napkin, stuck the corner in his mouth to dampen it and rubbed the smudges away. 

 

She rolled her eyes, and in this act, she found the answer to their problems. Several small children were running past, each with their face painted with a different pattern. “They are adorable!” She crooned, rushing from the alley and after the little children. “Excuse me!” She called, easily catching up. “Who painted your faces?” 

 

The oldest, a girl with face painting like a reptile, pointed behind them. “That booth. A quarter coin a face.” 

 

“Thank you!” Rey beamed and spun, barely side stepping Ben who had just reached them. “Face painting,” she told him, taking his hand and rushing back. 

 

The elderly Togruta laughed at the young woman’s insistence that she give Ben the face of a king or a beast. In the end, she gave him simplistic face paint, a white base, two black dots on the cheeks, and his upper lip entirely black with a single stripe down the middle of his bottom lip. “Traditional makeup of Nubian Royalty,” she told them. As Ben examined his face in the foggy mirror, he admired how expertly she had hid his scar with the plain face paint. “Matching for the girl?” The face painter asked. 

 

Ben looked at Rey and nodded, smiling. Rey excitedly took her place in the chair, and tried to stay still. It took all of twelve seconds and a single pair of crossed eyes from Ben to make her laugh. The togruta flashed a look at him and turned back to Rey. She gave Rey a golden dot on each cheek and used the same metallic paint for the lips. 

 

“Not for kissing,” the Togruta pointed at Ben. “It will make you sick.”

 

Rey gave him a pout. It was a small price to pay for their safety. 

 

“Thank you,” Ben told her dropping two full coins in the artist’s hand. 

 

“No no no, just half a coin,” she insisted. 

 

“No, it is beautiful and you deserve more,” Ben insisted, taking a third coin and pressing it into her hand, folding the aged fingers around the money. 

 

Rey felt her heart melt as she took his hand and dashed back into the fair. They zigzagged through the many booths, and they watched a contest of the largest nerf, and they laughed at a person in an ancient set of clone trooper armor trying to juggle. They came to a booth set up with a game where a person would try to knock down several jugs. 

 

“I want to play, but there’s something wrong,” Rey said. 

 

“They’ve glued the containers together. Here watch.” He moved to get in line and handed the payment to the game runner. He received the three large balls and set two down on the counter while he chucked the first, striking true, but hardly making the tower wobble. He chucked the second ball, again, just a wobbly tower. He handed the third ball to Rey. Rey nodded, taking the ball and spinning it in her palms. ‘I’m going to remove the glue. On my count.’ Rey noticed that something was flaking off the containers, and Ben started at ‘three.’ She stepped up to the counter, making a show of  aiming as he went ‘two.’ And at ‘one’, she chucked the ball, hitting the load bearing bottle, sending them all crashing to the floor. Her face lit up and she pointed to a stuffed Ewok doll. The game runner took the doll down and handed it to her, and went to examine his bottles. Rey gave it a hug and offered it to Ben to hug. 

 

Once they were out of earshot of the booth, Ben asked, “and you don’t think that was cheating?”

 

“I think that that’s righting a wrong,” Rey said firmly, hugging the stuffed Ewok. 

 

Ben smiled, keeping a hand on her lower back as they snaked through the crowds. 

 

“Look Mama! A Prince and Princess!” A small child shouted out, jumping up and down and pulling at the lady’s pant leg. “Can I go say hello?”

 

Rey felt her face grow hot but the little girl came up and gave a bow. “You’re so pretty!” She shouted. 

 

Ben laughed and knelt on a knee. “As are you. What is your name?”

 

“Shara! Your highness! Who are you?”

 

“I am Prince Ben, and this is my love, Princess Rey.”

 

The little girl squealed. “I love you! You and Rey! Good highnesses!!!” The girl spun and run back to her mother chattering about how the prince loved the princess.

 

Rey tugged on Ben’s sleeve. “I hear music.”

 

Ben stood and nodded. “Now we see how much you’ve learned.”

 

Rey held up a finger to tell him to wait, and she rushed to the little girl. “Princess Shara,” she said with a conspiratorial grin. “I’m afraid I have a very important task. My friend here,” she held out the Ewok, “needs someone to hold him tight and safe, and he thought that you would be a good new friend. What do you say?” She looked up at the girl’s mother who nodded to the girl. 

 

The small girl shrieked again, taking the Ewok and snuggling it close to her chest. “Thank you Princess Rey!!!”

 

“You’re very welcome.”

 

Rey returned to Ben. “I couldn’t dance with you and the Ewok.”

 

He beamed. “Then let’s go!” 

 

The dancing was different from the slow dancing they had tried the previous night, but they found their pace and jumped right in. There were couples dances and group dances and dances where the musicians called out the actions. Rey liked those the best. The sun was setting, and lanterns were lit among the perimeter, and the dancing continued. Rey had never seen Ben smile so much. She was amazed at how happy he looked. 

 

Until the rain started. 

 

It was fine at first, a welcome cool to the warm day. Ben had spun her in the rain, and as he brought her back in, his hand grazed her cheek, leaving a white and gold streak up his wrist and her cheek clear. He took the moment that the songs changed to pull her off the dance floor. He nudged her chin up for him to look at her. Her cheeks were dripping make up and her forehead was nearly back to her own color from a mix of rainwater and sweat. 

 

Her own smile faded. “I can see your scar.”

 

“It was a lovely evening but I think it might be time to leave.”

 

Rey nodded and held his hand tight as they found their way back into the the booths. 

 

“You’re worried,” Rey mentioned, feeling his force signature. 

 

“I have a bad feeling.”

 

“We’ll be fine once we get home.”

 

“I don’t have my saber.”

 

“It’s a fair. There’s no use for your...”

 

The click of the safetybeing turned off a blaster made them freeze. 

 

“You’re under arrest, Kylo Ren,” a sour voice sneered. Rey slowly turned to look at their opponent. It wasn’t an officer she recognized. Ben was slowly raising both his hands. “Don’t move!” 

 

“Your fear is apparent,” Ben said softly. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

 

“Lieutenant Ronidon, this is not the man you’re looking for!”

 

Rey turned to see Mitaka striding from the now empty fry bread booth. 

 

“Leave him be.” Mitaka continued. “If he was the man we’re looking for, we would all be dead by now.” Mitaka strode to face Ben, who was so much taller than him, and he looked knowingly at his rain ruined makeup. “I apologize for the inconvenience, sir. You’re free to leave.” 

 

Rey took hold of his hand and pulled him out of the fray, and she started running, pulling him all the way home. “He saved you,” she whispered, the moment they were inside. She threw herself into a hug, running a hand over his scar with one hand and holding him close with the other. “Why did he do that?”

 

“He was thanking me for the kindness to his family, to the village.”

 

“How do you know?”

 

Ben set his forehead to hers. “He was thinking it very loudly."

 


	7. Blackberries and Black Skies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They’ve caught a cold from dancing in the rain.

As Ben rubbed Rey’s back that night, snuggled up in their bed, listening to the rain on the roof, he risked facing a terrifying truth. 

 

“We’ll have to leave.”

 

Rey sighed and fidgeted so that her head was cradled between his arm and his chest. “I love it here.”

 

“Yeah, me too.”

 

“Where would we go next?”

 

“You said you wanted to see the galaxy? Maybe we’ll take our ship and travel for a while? Find someplace to settle down proper?”

 

Rey nodded. “That would be nice.”

 

“What sort of place would you like to go?”

 

“Are there other planets like this one?”

 

“Some, mainly colonies. Or do you want somewhere just us?”

 

She giggled and snuggled closer to him. “If it’s just us, we’ll never leave. Let’s go somewhere with a lot of people.”

 

He nodded. “Have you heard of a place called Canto Bight?”

 

She nodded. “I heard stories.” She remembered the way Finn and Rose and BB-8 had recalled their adventures through the golden city. 

 

“We can go there for a while. The city is where everyone is, but there’s not much life outside of that. We can find a little place out in the boonies, spend the nights in town.”

 

“It sounds like an adventure.”

 

“It will be with you.”

 

“Can we bring the berries with us? The ones at the back of the house that are only sweet when they’re black?”

 

Ben hummed thoughtfully. “It wouldn’t be too difficult to rig a greenhouse in the ship. The lights in the medbay are bright enough, and if they don’t give off the right rays, I can see what I can do about altering the frequencies...”

 

Rey sat up to look at him in the night gloom. “We can? We can grow plants out of the earth? On a ship? That actually grow?”

 

Ben laughed and pulled her back to cuddle with him. “Yes we can. I’ll do what I can to make sure your precious berries stay growing until we can get a different ship with a proper greenhouse.”

 

Rey blinked, imagining a room filled with life and green and all hers. 

 

“You’re not tired anymore.”

 

Rey shook her head. “I want plants from every planet we visit.”

 

Ben laughed again. “We’ll see what we can do.”

 

* * *

Rey rolled out of bed the next morning, cold and drowsy and sniffling. The skies outside the window were dark and drizzling, and they made Rey feel even more tired. She pulled the blanket from their now empty bed and padded down the stairs. She found Ben in the kitchen, his nose and cheeks and ears bright red, and he was heating up water on the somewhat ancient stove. 

 

“It sounds like you caught whatever I have, too,” he groaned when he heard her announce herself with a sniffle. 

 

“Caught what?” She murmured, snuggling up to Ben’s side as he placed a mixture of leaves and plants and flowers in the water. 

 

“A cold,” he said, moving her gently so he could reach for the large bowl they kept full of various berries. It was all Ben keeping it full, really. Rey usually ate what she picked before it reached the little house, and she had a handful each time she passed by the bowl. Ben tended to take a few if he wanted something sweet on top of his bread. This time he took the berries and gently settled them into the boiling water, making sure they didn’t splash. “The warm liquids help,” he told her. “Do you often get sick?” He wondered. 

 

She shook her head. “It’s always been too dry for this kind of sick.” She pulled the blanket around her tighter. “I’ve only really been dehydrated, where I can’t keep anything down, can’t process anything.”

 

Ben reached out and set a hand on top of her head. He ruffled her hair gently and pulled his hand back to pick the pot off the stove and gently pour the liquid into the two pale blue mugs he hovered down from one of the cabinets. 

 

“You’re so warm,” Rey whined, stepping close to him again. 

 

“You’ve certainly got a fever, Rey,” he said sadly. “Come to the couch,” he instructed, carrying the two mugs. 

 

She obeyed, patting R2 in the charging dock as she passed by. Ben sat down first, setting the mugs on the coffee table, and then opening his arms for her to curl up on his lap. She got comfy, and the mug was promptly pushed into her hands. 

 

They were silent as they kept each other warm, listening to the rain. 

 

“Something’s wrong,” Rey whispered suddenly, drooping and setting down the mug. 

 

Ben blearily looked up at her, having been on the brink of falling asleep. 

 

The door was blasted open, and the immediate noise of troopers filled their home. Ben shot to his feet, setting Rey on the couch behind him, and he tried to force push them back the way they came. It only held them back, and one in front tried to keep walking forward, only moving his legs comically. 

 

The troopers suddenly split rank, leaving the door open to a man strolling between the troopers. 

 

“What are you doing here, Hux?” Ben growled, releasing the troopers so he could pull the General to him. Except his efforts showed no reward. 

 

“Taking you into custody for traitorous conduct, Kylo Ren,“ he sneered. 

 

“I left you the Supremacy. I left you the Order. I left everything. You have no reason to arrest me.”

 

“Ah, but I do,” his voice grew sinister. The man raised his hand, and Ben’s airways were immediately shut. “I told you there were good reasons to keep a rabid cur around.” 

 

Rey had found her own strength by then, summoning Ben’s saber from its place on the wall. She took down trooper after trooper until she was flung against the far wall, certainly unconscious. 

 

Ben felt his sight going black as he struggled, but in an instant, air came flooding back, and he slumped to the floor. 

 

“Snoke,” Ben rasped, fighting the pain. 

 

“Haha! Yes my boy, you were always bright, heir of Vader and all. But not quite wise enough.” The ginger general crouched before Ben, speaking in the cadence of the most terrifying force user Ben had ever encountered. “My time without a body gave me some new found knowledge,” he chuckled. He reached out his hand, and Ben felt his soul be invaded once more. The invader strolled through his soul, looking for the well where the Force connected to his consciousness. Ben tried to fight, tried to channel the power he knew so well, but that only drug Snoke’s mind further in, pinpointing the source. He laughed , the sound echoing through souls and walls, and in a single motion, Snoke snapped Ben’s connection with the force like a small child snapping the stem of a flower. 


	8. Severed, Separated, Scared

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snoke has plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it got so dark. This just got some major plot though. They will be rewarded for their pain.

When Ben Solo came to, he found himself in a cell on one of the First Order ships. Which one, he could not tell. It was deafeningly quiet. Everything was quiet. He had never experienced such a quiet in his entire life. He could not hear any life anywhere, though he was sure there were others in the other cells nearby. He carefully stood from the rough bunk he had been thrown onto, measuring his physical capacity. He was still sick. He felt the pressure at the front of his head and in his ears, threatening to become a headache. His throat itched, and the skin around his nose was starting to chafe. It certainly wasn’t the worst illness he had had, but he had never been so mildly miserable on top of a horrible situation as this. He couldn’t feel any life. He couldn’t feel the Force. He couldn’t feel Rey.

 

Rey. Where was Rey? He went to the cell door, peering out, trying to make sense of where he was, where Rey could be. Knowing the First Order, knowing Snoke, he would not leave her. Ben’s consciousness prodded where Snoke had severed his connection with the Force. It was numb, senseless, empty. Would Snoke have done the same to Rey? 

 

Ben studied the doorway. It was the simplest of locks. He held out his hand, working from muscle memory. Nothing shifted. He turned back to the cot, held his hand out, and tried to lift the military grade thin blanket provided. Not even a wrinkle. He felt light headed, and he stumbled to the cot, breathing through his mouth and setting his elbows on his knees so he could hold his head in his hands. 

 

Snoke had at last taken everything away from him. What more could he take?

* * *

Rey stirred, blinking through the bright medical lights above her. She tried to sit up, but found herself confined to a med-cot with thick, metal restraints, like when she had first been interrogated by Kylo Ren. This time, she was horizontal, cold, and sniffling still with her head cold. 

 

“That bacteria will be eradicated in a few hours,” a sour voice with a Coruscant accent sneered from nearby.

 

“Where am I?” She groaned, trying to twist to see the man who had spoken.

 

“The name of the ship is Vengeance,” the man said, finally moving so she could see the bastard’s red hair. “Suiting, I suppose.”

 

“Filthy leech,” Rey spat.

 

He laughed. “I’m not the one in restraints. Leader Snoke is off on some other duties, but I’ve been instructed to tell you that your precious Ben Solo is scheduled for…” he paused, rolling the words in his mouth like a hard candy that held a bit of liquid in the center, “public execution.”

 

“No!” She tried to pull her hands from the restraints, only straining agains cold metal.

 

“Yes. Yes indeed. And you are his replacement.”

 

“I’ll never bow to him! Or to you!”

 

“Ah, but your, what did Snoke say? Fiery spit of hope? Was it not good enough before? He made you bow and cower,” he leaned forward, “and scream.” 

 

She spit in his face, though it only took him a quick step back to dodge the insult. 

 

“I saw the security holos. I know it was your precious Ben Solo who sliced the Supreme Leader in half, not you.” He ran a gloved hand over her bare arm, though she tried to shake him away. “You don’t have the power to fight Snoke. You never did. It was all a farce. You’re going to be his little pet, you know? He will strip you of all your insolence. You will bow before me—.” His words were choked from his smug mouth, and his gloved hand reached for his throat. 

 

Rey watched in horror as he fell to his knees out of her sight, clinging to the cot, rasping for air. In a moment, she heard him gasp as air rushed back into his lungs, and his darkened eyes rose to meet hers. 

 

“My host is far too greedy for my liking,” the sickly sweet cadence remarked. 

 

Fear clenched in her stomach. 

 

“There is no use in resisting, child,” he murmured. “You will bow to me, not my shell. He will be forced out soon enough, when I have no more use of him.”

 

“I will never serve you,” she whispered, feeling tears on her cheeks.

 

“No, Rey of Jakku will not, but Sinth Ren, the new Mistress of the Knights of Ren, certainly will.”

 

“I will not be renamed. I will not lead your knights.”

 

“Ahhhh, my child, you misunderstand. These are your knight now.”

 

“Then they will die, like your guard, who failed. I killed them all.”

 

He laughed, cocking his head back, and rocking over her. “Like you killed me?” He took her chin in Hux’s hand, forcing her to stare into his insistent eyes. “That was very naughty of my apprentice. He is going to pay dearly for his act of treason. Such a traitor to leave all his life behind for a girl.”

 

“And yet you still underestimate him. You cannot kill Ben Solo. He has already destroyed you. He can do it again.”

 

“Ah ah ah,” he chastised. “No, he can’t. Not when you are going to kill him first.” 

 

“You will never be able to make me do such a thing.”

 

“You’ve already been informed of his public execution. What my host did not tell you was that this will also be when you will be revealed as a more powerful being than the Heir of Vader could have ever been.” He stroked the edge of her jaw and let go. “I suggest you serve me willingly, little scavenger. I have no qualms with playing with puppets.” At that, Hux’s limbs went comically limp. “There will be no weak minded troopers for you to trick, child. I suggest you rest. You will recover from your illness sooner, and then you will be moved to more appropriate chambers, if you behave.”

 

The floppy limbs carried the shell of a being out of the med bay, leaving Rey terrifyingly alone.

* * *

Ben sobbed openly, trying to remember words from his mother. She was always saying something about light, about hope, about the sun, about the stars, about how the good will come only after the worst is over. He tried to picture Rey’s happy face as they had danced in the rain. He tried to remember the feel of her after they had wiped away the last of the facepaint and rainwater. He tried to remember the feel of her hand, and the dimples in her cheeks, and the freckles over her shoulders. 

 

“Ben?”

 

His heart turned. It was far too early for him to be losing his mind.

 

“Ben! Ben! The Force Bond!”

 

He shot up, tears falling again to find that Rey was there, laying down, slightly fuzzy, like a poorly received holocom. He took her hand and kissed her face. It didn’t feel nearly as real as the first time they touched through the Force, but they were together, just for a moment. 

 

“Where are you?” He whispered, pressing kisses to the damp tears over here face. 

 

“A med bay, on the ship Vengeance. Ben, they’re going to execute you.”

 

“Are you still connected to the Force? Can you still feel it? Inside you? Awake?” 

 

“Of course, what do you mean?”

 

“Snoke severed my connection. I don’t know how the Force Bond still…”He pressed his forehead to hers. “You’re not touching me.”

 

“I can’t. I’m restrained. Ben, how could he take your connection to the Force?”

 

“I don’t know. I can’t even sense anything, Rey. I can’t feel your signature, or your heartbeat.”

 

Rey reached out as she had been taught. “I can feel you.”

 

“What if this is a trap? What if Snoke is really—“

 

“No. He is not. This is stronger than that, Ben. If he really wanted to keep this force bond, he would not have cut you off from the Force. This is the Force, pure,” her voice slowed, “and seeking balance.” She took a trembling breath, about to tell him that Snoke wanted her to kill him, but he was gone. 

* * *

Ben trembled as her form disappeared from his hands. “We’ll get out, Sweetheart. We have to."


	9. Alone

Rey had fallen into a fitful sleep after exhausting herself trying to escape her restraints. She stirred briefly when she heard the door open, but she was unconscious again in a moment. 

 

She wasn’t truly awake until much later. She opened her eyes and shot up, trying to make out anything in the dark. She felt the bed around her, not quite as soft as her bed she shared with Ben, but comfortable. A warm blanket pooled  around her waist. She felt out the edge of the bed, and a series of short intelligible beeps greeted her and turned on the light. Everything was dark cold durasteel, except for her bed, a chair in the corner, and the mirror that denoted a refresher out of the door beside it. The little beeps had come from a bb unit, also black. 

 

Rey cautiously studied the unit before asking, “where am I?”

 

[your chambers.] the droid beeped. 

 

“Who are you?”

 

[designation BB-J0.]

 

“I’m Rey,” she returned. 

 

[programming dictates Mistress as Sinth Ren.]

 

“I’m not going by that ridiculous name!”

 

The droid disregarded the resistance and went to the wall near the door, where it plugged into the socket, communicating with the ship computers. 

 

“Let me out, and guide me to my ship,” she said, trying to exude all the authority she could. 

 

[Mistress Ren’s next scheduled activity is evening meal.]

 

Rey padded over to the droid. “What is my schedule?”

 

[evening meal.

daily resting.

morning meal.

appointment with Supreme Leader.

expected removal from current chambers to cell block.

To be determined.]

 

“Excuse me?” 

 

The droid repeated the set of events. 

 

“What is the appointment,” she spat the word, “with the Supreme Leader about?”

 

[classified.]

 

Rey groaned and pressed her hand to the biolock next to the door. It scanned and beeped red. Rey then tried to open the door with the Force. There were only strange clicks as she tried to work it open. 

 

[Mistress Ren is to stay in her chambers until requested.]

 

Rey groaned again and returned to the bed, flopping onto it. 

 

“J0, where is Kylo Ren?” Rey asked, hoping for anything but classified. 

 

[detainment block FD47302.]

 

“Can I go see him?”

 

[Mistress Ren is to stay in her chambers until requested.]

 

“May I communicate with him?”

 

The droid stopped and turned its viewport to her. [prisoners are not allowed communications.]

 

“Am I not your Mistress? I am allowed to speak with who I wish.”

 

The droid swiveled its head back to finish its communications with the ship computers. Rey sighed and laid back on the bed.  

 

[food will arrive shortly.]

 

“Thanks, Jo,” Rey sighed. 

 

Suddenly, the droid began to beep, signaling that it was connecting to an onboard communicator. The tech was ancient, and it was vastly outdated, but it had been included in every large ship she had explored since she was very little. Rey scrambled back to sit by the droid. The beeping was replaced by a slight static, and then a voice, the most comforting low voice. 

 

“Hello?”

 

“Ben! It’s Rey!”

 

“Rey? Through the emergency comms? How did you...?”

 

“A little help from a droid. I couldn’t tell you before. Snoke wants me to kill you. He wants me to be his new apprentice. Ben, we need to get out. How do we escape?”

 

“He’s going to try to break you.”

 

“How? What should I expect? What should I do?”

 

The Force Bond connected in that breathe, and Rey turned to find him behind her. She sprinted the short distance into his arms. It felt fuzzy and static, but beneath the interference, it was still her Ben. 

 

“Where are you?” She heard his voice echo behind her through the speakers. 

 

“Bed chambers,” she said, trying to push a scene through the force to him but wondering if he even could see it. 

 

He gasped. “You...those are my chambers!”

 

Rey looked around the room, suddenly feeling safer. “You stayed here? On Vengeance?”

 

“Briefly. Before the Finalizer had been completed and launched.”

 

“Ben! I can communicate with you through the Force. I can send you pictures and messages and...” 

 

Ben put a hand to her cheek. “You are not alone.” He sniffled, and Rey felt her heart hurt that he was still sick. 

 

Ben looked away at the sound of his cell door opening. Rey felt him melt away as the Force Bond closed. She heard the conversation through the emergency comms. 

 

“Lieutenant Mitaka,” She heard Ben say. 

 

“I’m sorry I could not keep you from this,” the lieutenant said. 

 

Rey returned to BB-J0’s side, listening in. 

 

“You don’t have much time. There’s a malfunctioning escape pod, one level below us.” She heard the clink of metal. “I can get you there and out.”

 

“You’re a traitor,” Ben said in awe. 

 

“As are you.”

 

Their voices grew quiet, and Rey suddenly felt immeasurably happy and immeasurably alone. 


	10. Playing His Game

Rey was almost relieved when she was summoned the next morning. She couldn’t sleep, and eating was a chore now that her nerves had settled in, and this was a horrible idleness. She patted the top of BB-J0’s dome as she passed by the droid to the officer who had been sent to retrieve her, a young woman with large blue eyes who did not dare to look at Rey. She simply put the handcuffs on, and led her through the ship. 

 

“Come in,” Hux’s voice answered when the officer knocked on the door. 

 

It slid open to reveal a strange room. Hux was at a table off to one side, working on a holopad. He was less formally dressed than the last time they had met, a casual undershirt over his uniform pants, and bare footed. His coat was slung over the back of the chair he sat on. The rest of the room was filled with pillows and drapery in golds and blacks and maroons. 

 

Rey stepped inside, staring at Hux, for it was certainly Hux in posture and action and voice. 

 

“Snoke wanted to speak with you. He’ll be here shortly.”

 

“And you don’t want to sneer your superiority at me?”

 

“Unfortunately, we are to work together for the time being, as in equals.” He glanced up at her, and back down at his holopad. 

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“You’re Snoke’s apprentice, aren’t you? We are at equal rank.”

 

Rey held up her cuffed wrists. “You’re not in restraints.”

 

“He’s not in your head.”

 

Rey heard the strange jealousy in his voice. 

 

“Now if you will let me concentrate. He is not responsible for reports.” He returned his tired eyes to the holopad, swiping through the files and filling in information. 

 

“You’re as much a prisoner as I am.”

 

“Would you please let me work?” He whined.

 

Rey raised her eyebrows, but she found a nearby pillow to plop on to wait for Snoke. “So is he in your head all the time or just when he wants to?”

 

“Your boyfriend was never this chatty!” Hux groaned. 

 

“Where is he?” 

 

“Would you just shut up!”

 

“I’m curious. We’re equals, aren’t we?”

 

“Now, now, children, stop squabbling.”

 

Hux’s shell stood from the chair, and Rey scrambled to her feet. 

 

“Sinth Ren,” he greeted. “When you approach me, you kneel.”

 

Rey raised her chin slightly. 

 

“We aren’t going to have a repeat of the throne room, are we? This time,” he held out his hands, “Ben Solo is not here.”

 

Rey instead took several steps backwards. 

 

“Where do you think you’re going, apprentice?” Rey felt herself walking to him and gracefully kneeling, head bowed like she had seen Ben bow before him. Her cuffs fell from her wrists like the first time she was before Snoke. “Very good, child. Now, I have a gift for you,” and she freely raised her head to look up at him. A dark hilted saber flew to his hand, and he held it out to her. 

 

She made no movement. 

 

“You’re so quiet and meek today. Or is my gift not to your liking? Perhaps a more familiar saber?” He flicked away the saber in his hand, Kylo Ren’s hilted saber flew to replace it. 

 

She studied the saber, one she certainly knew well. She hesitantly reached out for it. He freely placed it in her hand. 

 

“Yes, the weapon of a true force user, the lightsaber. Elegant, useful. Now, I do have another gift I think you would like much more than that old thing.”

 

The door opened behind them, and Rey turned. Ben was thrown into the room, skidding across the floor in the fetal position, groaning.  

 

“Ben! No!” Rey shouted, scrambling up and running to him. She fell beside him, holding his face, noting his many cuts and bruises and his still chafed nose. 

 

“I tried to escape,” He rasped. “They found me.”

 

“You hear that? He tried to leave you.”

 

Rey shook her head and pressed kisses to his cheek. She knew the truth. He wasn’t leaving her. He loved her. He was staying alive.

 

“And yet you still have compassion for him, for this monster who kidnapped you, this insolent boy who begged you to run away, this naive lover who thought that he could hide you from me, his true master!”

 

She felt his hand on her shoulder. She spun to her feet, igniting the saber, and was frozen. 

 

“You are not more powerful than I. Ben Solo took a carefully calculated moment of distraction. You do not have such a calculating mind.” The saber left her hand and the blade disappeared into the hilt. She was forced down into the kneeling position again.  “And for your disobedience, he will pay.” She heard Ben’s screams, and she felt her tears flow down her cheeks. She couldn’t even see him. She reached out through the Force, trying to take some pain away, but she found nothing where Ben was. There was only empty air. The screaming continued. She reached out further, for her connection to Ben. She found him, much farther away, quiet and sad, but in no pain. She pushed a vision of him on the floor, the sound of his screams. She felt his confusion. That was all she needed. They had not recaptured him. Whatever this was, it was not Ben Solo. 

 

She let her tears fall. Let him play his game. 

 

 

 


	11. What to Do?

_So Far on Traitorous:_

_Poe discovered that Rey and Kylo Ren/Ben Solo were connected and communicating through the Force. Rey was deemed a traitor, but escaped with the help of Finn, bringing R2-D2 with her. While she was in mortal danger from those she had thought were her friends, Ben leaves his life as Supreme Leader Kylo Ren behind him._

_Rey and Ben begin a domestic life on a remote planet._

_Their peace is disrupted by the First Order and the revelation that Snoke’s soul was not destroyed, and now sporadically inhabits Supreme Leader Hux’s body. Snoke severed Ben’s connection with the Force and took him and Rey prisoner. Rey, Snoke took specifically to train as a replacement for Kylo Ren. To secure her place as Snoke’s new protege, he wants her to kill Ben._

_Lieutenant Dopheld Mitaka helps Ben escape._

_When Snoke begins his attempts at breaking Rey, he throws a broken and battered Ben before her, crooning how he had tried to escape leaving her behind. What Snoke does not know is that though he broke Ben’s connection to the Force, he did not break the Force Bond between Ben and Rey. Rey knows through their bond that this Ben that Snoke is using to manipulate Rey is only an illusion, and the real Ben Solo successfully escaped._

* * *

Ben Solo huddled down in a corner of the escape pod, cradling his head as he tried to rest until the craft landed back on their home planet. He was a horrible combination of sick, miserable, ecstatic, and lost. He was alone. He was once again headed away from the horror of the First Order, but he was leaving his heart and soul on board with Rey. And his connection to the Force had been ripped from him, he could not forget that. He was alive, he was free, but he was alone and weak and sick and without the only being in the entire galaxy that he could say he loved without restraint. 

 

Ben did not recognize the part of the planet his escape pod landed on, but he didn’t particularly care. It was dark, and finding his way home could wait. He just wanted to sleep. He laid himself on the bench, pulling an emergency blanket over him, and tried to find sleep.

 

Instead, a terrifying scene of himself screaming on the floor of Snoke’s throne room filled his mind. Where did that come from? A gentle touch of Rey’s familiar consciousness let him know she was alright in the moment, but he could not let her know that he was fine, just missing her terribly. He felt so useless without access to the Force. Everything was now pushed onto him, and he could do nothing with it. 

 

Everything was quiet again, and he found sleep soon enough, glad to be free of the misery for a while.

* * *

Ben stared sadly at the damage of his and Rey’s little home. The door was irreparable. The main room was a disaster. Everything else had been briefly looted. He wondered if they had taken R2. He wasn’t on the charger. 

 

Ben went upstairs. Again, briefly looted, but nothing seemed to be missing. He remembered the kyber crystal halves, and he dropped to his knees on Rey’s side of the bed. She kept them in a little box in a small compartment between the base of the bed and the base of the side table, and they were still there. 

 

He wandered back downstairs to the mess of a kitchen, rummaging through the cooler to find something simple to eat. He still was sick, and he couldn’t imagine actually preparing food. 

 

There were beeps behind him, and Ben could have cried. R2-D2 peeked out of the pantry, and seeing Ben, it zoomed to his side.  

 

“Are you alright?” Ben asked, patting it’s dome. 

 

The beeps told him that the droid was getting too old for these kind of shenanigans. Ben laughed. 

 

He returned to the couch with his simple food and observed the mess. He pulled his feet up underneath him and turned sideways so that he could lean against the seat back and eat. 

 

He was nearly asleep when movement disturbed him. A girl approached through the field, carrying a large basket. Ben stood and went to the doorway, leaning heavily against the wall. After a moment, he recognized her as the girl from the frybread booth. 

 

“Hello?” He greeted, sure his voice shared his confusion. 

 

“Hello,” She chirped. She didn’t say another word until she was right in front of him. “My uncle said that you had gotten into trouble. You and your lady friend. He also said that you were sick.” She held up the basket. “There was extra frybread from the festival, and I thought you might like it.”

 

“Thank you,” Ben returned, taking the offered basket. 

 

“Where is your lady friend?” 

 

Ben chewed on the inside of his cheek. 

 

“Oh,” she nodded understandingly. “On Uncle Dopheld’s ship?”

 

He nodded. 

 

“I’m sorry to hear that. She is so sweet. Will she be back?” 

 

Ben tensed  but the girl was prepared. 

 

“Here, it’s alright. Let me help you.”

 

Ben frowned as the girl took the basket and paused briefly when she saw the mess. She didn’t say anything, but she did continue into the kitchen. He trailed after her, curious of what she was doing. 

 

She set the basket on the one clear counter and started picking up the mess the troopers had left. 

 

“You don’t have to do that.”

 

“No, I don’t,” she nodded, “but I want to.” She wiped the remnants of a broken bowl into her hands and threw them into the trash bin. 

 

“You really don’t—.”

 

She spun to look at the man. “Let me help. There is such a problem in the galaxy where no one lets anyone else help them! You can’t live all alone and expect to be ok! We need each other! All of us!” 

 

Ben stared at this girl who had just waltzed into his house and insisted on only being kind. He finally nodded slowly. “Okay...” he certainly needed some help. “What is your name?”

 

“Jana Mitaka. And you?”

 

“Ben Solo.”

 

“Pleasure to meet you, Ben.”

* * *

Rey was in hell. She was sure of it. Literal, figurative, metaphorical, metaphysical, physical, fantastical, whatever it was, she was in hell. Jakku, she had control over, she could do things, she could work and get a scrap of food and get by. Here, she was either coddled and fed, or she was tortured by lies, or she was shocked with lightning, or she was treated like a puppet, or she was treated like a leader over legions of people, like someone to be feared, or she was treated like a child who was misbehaving. Here, on the First Order ship, Vengeance, she was constantly on high alert, stressed out, and upset. She knew that it was all Snoke trying to break her, and she knew that Ben had escaped and that these images that she could touch and that could speak were not real, but Snoke knew Ben so well, and these illusions were so real. Except for none of them having Ben’s signature. She could feel the emptiness in them. 

 

She just wanted to be back with Ben before this, back in their bed, listening to rain, discussing flower crowns and black berries. 

 

She had debated telling Snoke that she knew that his plaything wasn’t the real Ben. She knew that it was better that she did not. If she told him she knew, that meant she would reveal that their Force Bond was intact, though Ben could no longer use the Force. If Snoke knew that, what would he do to her? If Snoke knew, what new terrors would he use against her? She could handle a fake Ben being tortured in her sight. She even knew that her growing skill at keeping a stony face was helping her gain Snoke’s favor. 

 

Rey hated herself. She was bowing to him, showing her belly like a subservient dog. She was staying alive by obeying Snoke’s commands. She wanted to fight. She wanted to tear him to the ground. She wanted to obliterate every trace of him from the galaxy. 

 

Instead, she was stuck playing his pet and protecting her mind from his intensive probing. 

 

Her world went quiet, and she sat up from her bed where she had let her mind wander. This was the first time since Ben’s escape that the Force had connected them, and it had been such a long time since then. Ben was standing and speaking to someone shorter than him, though that was most sentients in the galaxy. He straightened up as he felt the familiar connection and spun haphazardly to face her. 

 

“Rey!” He shouted. She was already pummeling into him, hugging him tightly. 

 

“I miss you so much,” she whispered.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

“At the moment. He’s using illusions of you, saying he caught you, torturing you. It’s the only thing keeping me sane, knowing you’re safe somewhere out there.”

 

“I’m working on getting you out.”

 

“How?”

 

“I’m working on it.” He sheepishly kisses her forehead. “I’ve made a friend in Mitaka’s niece.” He smiled at who he had been talking to. “Her name is Jana, and she says hello.”

 

“The frybread girl?” Rey asked, before echoing, “hello.”

 

“Rey says hello.” He nodded. “Do you mind?” He asked. His eyes followed someone leaving the room before returning to Rey. “She’s gone. She’s been keeping me company while I’ve been learning how to live without the Force.”

 

“She sounds kind.”

 

“Exceptionally. Back to you. Any news? Anything we can exploit?”

 

Rey buried her face in his shirt. “I’ve looked. Paid attention to everything. Snoke wants to keep me and break me. And I can’t fight. I can’t tell him that I know it’s only a trick or else he’ll know about you.”

 

“He told you he wanted you to kill me? To prove that you’re his new apprentice. Has he asked you to do so yet?”

 

She shook her head. 

 

He smiled. “The next time he plays his little game, kill the illusion, stony faced and cruel. Especially before he requests my death from you.”

 

Rey frowned up at him. “And you think that would...?”

 

“Surprise him. Keep your mind shielded, but pledge your loyalty to him. The first moment you have any sort of freedom off that ship, you may be able to save yourself before I can get to you.” He kisses her forehead. “Has Mitaka reached out to you?”

 

“We have never crossed paths.”

 

He nodded. “He said he would help when opportunity presents itself. Keep an eye out. Stay safe. Stay alive. Kill me. I love you.”

 

Rey stared up into his large brown eyes. “You’ve never said that before.”

 

“I never thought I needed to. I’ve meant it since ...before I knew I meant it.”

 

Rey sighed and put her fingers in his hair pulling him down to kiss her properly. 

 


	12. Stay Dead

“Sinth Rey, my young apprentice,” Snoke’s speech pattern echoed through Hux’s mouth. “How is your training?”

 

“Very well, Supreme Leader,” Rey replied, kneeling. 

 

“Yes, Yes, I am sure. The reports from little BB-J0 show that you have grown stronger and more disciplined.” The little droid that had followed her up from her room nodded at her. 

 

“The droid is a loyal servant,” Rey stated. 

 

“Yes it is. Unfortunately, its databank is corrupted. I’m having difficulty accessing certain files and recordings. You wouldn’t know anything of that, Lady Ren?”

 

Rey looked to the droid, genuinely surprised. “No, I do not.”

 

“Perhaps you would want to try to fix the droid? I hear you are very skilled with repairing things?”

 

Rey shook her head. “I do not repair BB units very well. I would suggest the memory banks and processing unit be wiped to see if the corrupted data is in fact—.”

 

She felt the lightning course through her body, her fingers touching the durasteel floor tingling, her mind seizing up, her jaw locking to prevent her from screaming out. 

 

“I gave you an opportunity, Sinth Ren. Your droid is certainly hiding something. You shall have no secrets from me.” 

 

Rey felt the tendrils of Snoke’s Force abilities probe her mind. She struggled to keep her walls up, but she found herself wishing for Ben to cradle her close to his chest. 

 

“Ah, you wish for my failed apprentice? You desire his presence?” The lightning ceased

 

“No!” She gasped. She quivered on the floor, feeling tears on her face. “No,” she repeated softer. 

 

“I’m afraid he has not been behaving either.” Hux’s hand waved to a trooper who left the room. “As you become stronger, he too has been fighting back. So many failed attempts to leave you behind to save his own skin, just as your parents did.”

 

Rey struggled to push herself back into the kneeling position. She felt the saber release a static discharge against her pant leg. She was grateful for the saber on her hip. It was not Kylo Ren’s, but it was certainly not her own. It was impersonal. It was the most basic of a hilt in black durasteel with a textured grip. It felt too small for her. The red blade was short, and it didn’t have the power of either saber she previously wielded. But it did hurt. During her training, she had once lost her grip and called it back with the Force, and her stress had brought the saber spinning rather than straight into her hand, slicing a deep canyon into her right calf. She admired now how Ben never mentioned his scar to the face. She had also received a bacta bandage over the gash, and the scar seemed to constantly itch. It was a small difference to her day to day terrors, and she found that it was never the most important thing when she saw Ben through the Force Bond. 

 

“You really can’t keep the failure off your mind,” Snoke chuckled. “Such a pity that you are so obsessed with that child. You could do so much better.”

 

The doors whooshed open, and the familiar thud of the imaginary Ben being thrown to the floor sent something clicking into place. She would do what she was told to do. She would be obedient. She spun to her feet, every nerve aching. 

 

“You left me,” she whispered, not sure if it was for Ben or for her parents or Snoke’s echoes in her head. “You only want me for my power. That’s all anyone ever wants me for! Even when you wanted me, it was only to rule over me! To teach me and be my master!”

 

“No, sweetheart,” the illusion whimpered. Each time Snoke summoned the fake Ben, he was worse than before. This time, he had a black eye, a bloodied lip, and a trembling frame. “No, I just want to be free with you.”

 

Rey knelt besides him, running her hand through his hair. 

 

He suddenly yelled out, just as she had when Snoke had invaded her mind so long ago. 

 

The pain in his face was what finally convinced her. In a swift movement, her saber was lit and in her hand, and in the same movement, the lightsaber went through his neck, like a hand through a holocom. There was a moment before the false head of Ben Solo fell from her hand and to the floor. As it spun, she noted cauterized flesh. She stood, stepping backwards, noting that it felt slower than it should be. She frowned as the body suddenly slumped, as if Snoke just remembered how a dead body should act.

 

“Sinth Ren, What have you done?”

 

She turned off her saber. “What you wanted. You wanted Ben Solo dead, and I killed him.” She turned to face the dumbfounded look on Hux’s face. She kneeled before him. “He is no longer useful.” She bowed her head. “I am your apprentice.”

 

She trained her eyes on the floor as the click of Hux’s regulation uniform shoes came closer. He set a hand on top of her head.

 

“You have done well, my well meaning apprentice.” His hand lowered over her ear and then under her chin, bringing her face up. “But you are a fool!” He threw her to the side. “That is no Ben Solo!” She felt the Force move her to stare at the disintegrating image before her, fading into air. “That was my doing. He has no Force signature! Did you not even think to check? Did you even think to try to reach him?”

 

Rey felt her heart tense and her stomach churn and tears on her cheeks. “It doesn’t matter! He means nothing to me!” She sobbed. “I killed him, believing him to be real! Now you torment me, knowing I will have to kill him again!” She swallowed. “Such a tedious task! Wasted on your failure.”

 

Snoke’s Force hold released her and she thudded to the ground. 

 

“Why do you want me broken! I will have these scars and weaknesses forever, allowing pain and distraction in as I try to heal! That is your failure with Ben Solo, with Kylo Ren!”

 

Snoke waved Hux’s hand, bringing her back to stand before him. “You dare defy me?”

 

“You want me for an apprentice? I am your apprentice. I am not your plaything!”

 

“And I am your master!”

 

Rey was in sudden pain from every nerve. 

 

The world went quiet. 

 

“No no no no no,” Rey whimpered. 

 

“Rey!”

 

Rey shook her head, and continued to whimper “no” repeatedly. 

 

“Rey,” Ben whispered, taking her hand. 

 

Rey immediately fell to the ground, free of the pain. She gasped for air. 

 

“What is this?” Snoke scowled. 

 

“Are you okay?” Ben asked, holding her hand tight in his own. He looked up, and he saw Hux’s body staring at them, trying to manipulate the Force around them. 

 

“Ben Solo!” Snoke roared. 

 

“He can see you, Ben.”

 

“I can see him.”

 

“The Force Bond! How can this be!” Snoke surged forward in Hux’s body, but Ben was as solid as Luke Skywalker had been on Crait, and he passed right through him. 

 

Rey could have laughed, taking that single moment of distraction to light the saber and beheading Hux. 

 

“Rey! Why did you do that, Rey!” Ben held her shoulders tight. 

 

“I’m free.”

 

“We don’t know what Snoke will do now! Rey, we don’t know what he can do! If he can take over Hux then he can...”

 

Rey shook her head. “Not while we’re together.” She took his hands from her shoulders and held them tight in her own. “The Force Bond was never because of Snoke. It’s protecting us.”

 

“For now. Get out of there, Rey. The Bond doesn’t last forever.”

 

Rey nodded. “Don’t let go.”

 

“Get back to me and I’ll never let you go again!”


	13. Not Just Any Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit scattered, but thanks for bearing with me. I had my bday a couple days ago, so that’s what’s been on my mind, as you can tell. This was going to be a separate piece in the same universe, but I don’t like to waste scenes. 
> 
> I’m working out what way to go with this, as I have a couple different ideas, but I’m going to do more fluff for the next few chapters for sure. 
> 
> As always, I super appreciate your kudos and comments!

Getting off Vengeance was nearly comical. Rey held Ben’s hand tightly as she ran to the nearest vessel. Ben held her hand back, standing still as she drug his Force Bond self through the ship. He didn’t properly know how the bond worked, but he was able to hold her hand and watch as she ran in place it seemed like to him. 

 

She found a ship easily enough, and she was soon on her way back to Nara 7 where Ben was waiting for her. 

 

When the Force Bond closed, Rey tried to kick the little ship into hyperdrive. It sputtered. Rey groaned and set about fixing it, praying to the powers that be that she would make it back to Ben safely. 

 

Soon enough, a slightly larger transport ship approached. She tensed, sensing the life forms aboard. 

 

“Mistress Sinth Ren, this is Lieutenant Dopheld Mitaka. I have received reports that your ship’s hyperdrive is malfunctioning. I am here to assist you.”

 

Rey felt her stomach churn, but she allowed the ships to tether together. When she boarded the transport, Mitaka thrust out his hand for a handshake. 

 

“I’m glad to see you survived,” he said cheerfully as she shook his hand. The pressure in her chest lifted. 

 

“Thank you.”

 

Mitaka nodded. “Back to Nara 7?”

 

She nodded, taking a seat and letting her muscles relax. 

 

“I hope I didn’t cause too much trouble with J0. I knew that there were some conversations that you and Ben had had that Snoke hadn’t needed to hear.”

 

“You were the one who altered the recordings?”

 

Mitaka smiled. “That, I could do.”

* * *

Rey stumbled off the transport, sprinted across the field, and slammed into Ben, knocking the breath out of him. 

 

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Ben whispered, placing kisses over her hair and her forehead and her cheeks and her lips. He moved his hands from her back to her cheeks and cradled her head. 

 

“Don’t leave me.” Rey wrapped her arms around his shoulders, standing on tiptoe. 

 

“Never,” he murmured against her lips. 

 

The transport’s door closed, and they glanced over as Mitaka ignored the reunion as he headed towards the village. 

 

Ben pulled Rey up into his arms like he did the first time they met. 

* * *

Rey had her head on Ben’s bare chest, listening to his breathing, trying to match up her own to his. 

 

“What are you thinking about?” Ben asked. This question had become a common one as he tried living without his constant connection to the Force. Rey didn’t mind. She often forgot that it was something the Force could do, and she didn’t mind telling him her thoughts. She always felt closer to him when he asked. It reminded her that he cared for her. 

 

“Your breathing, and how warm your skin is,” she replied, snuggling closer. “What are you thinking about?”

 

“When your birthday is, or if you even know?”

 

Rey shook her head. “I don’t. I picked a day, the longest day of the year cycle on Jakku. It was so long that it grew too hot to be outside in the sun scavenging. I got to stay inside my home, and I would use my flying simulator I fixed up.”

 

“You’re an exceptional pilot.” He snuggled her close, pressing a kiss into her hair. 

 

“Why were you thinking about when my birthday was?” 

 

“We’ve known each other for more than a cycle. I’ve never seen you celebrate.”

 

Rey sighed. “I had celebrated before Starkiller, then I was too busy with the Resistance to even think about it the next time around.”

 

Ben rubbed her back. “What would you like for your birthday?”

 

“It’s not for ages, Ben.”

 

“You don’t really know when it is. I can celebrate you when I like, then. That means, I think I would like to celebrate with you in a few days.”

 

Rey smiled. “If you’d like.”

 

“So What would you like?”

 

“What would you do for yours?”

 

“Mother would have droids make a cake. There would be gifts. Father took me to a top of a mountain once, saying it was camping. Seeing somewhere new.”

 

“I don’t want to go anywhere. Not right now.”

 

Ben nodded. “I understand.” He started running his hands through her hair. “Get some sleep. I’ll make sure you have a special birthday.”

* * *

The following days were filled with secrecy, rather as much secrecy as two people could have when they never wanted to be out of each other’s sight. Ben was constantly cooking and trying to hide it from Rey. He enlisted R2 in telling her stories to keep her entertained. He took her to the market often, and she soon became fast friends with Jana and Dopheld Mitaka who kept her attention off whatever Ben was buying. 

 

When the day Ben had picked finally arrived,  she was awoken to kisses all over her face and a tray of breakfast cakes and fruits set beside her. 

 

“It’s so pretty,” she sighed as she bit into a fruit. 

 

Ben told her stories while she ate. She had been enamored with ancient tales and myths, and she had begged to hear more. Ben would tell her these myths as they meditated or as they wandered the forest or as he cooked some evening meal. 

 

As soon as she finished the last breakfast cake, Ben retrieved a box wrapped in shimmery ribbon from beneath their bed. “First gift.”

 

“First?” Rey asked, tugging on the ribbon. It unraveled, and Rey lifted the lid. Shimmery fabric lit up her face as she pulled the dress out. “It’s lovely.”

 

“You’re a princess today.”

 

Rey placed a sticky kiss on his cheek. 

 

“Go on and get changed.”

 

Rey obediently shed her night clothes. “What do you have planned today?”

 

“Surprises.”

 

She slipped the dress over her head. “That’s vague.”

 

He chuckled. “Of course.” He took a brush and ran it through her hair before plaiting flowers in it. “Come on, Princess.” 

 

He took her hand and drug her down the stairs to where R2-D2 was whistling a birthday song. It rocked back and forth when it saw her and beeped ‘Happy Birthday.’

 

“Thank you, R2!“

 

It was a whirlwind from there. Ben took her to the town where everyone wished her happy birthday, and a few of the little children gave her their attempts at flower crowns. Ben expertly plaited them into her hair. 

 

Ben took them even farther past the town to the woods on the other side, which she didn’t go too often. He stopped on the bank of a little pond that was deep and crystal clear. There were a set of fabric wraps for her if she didn’t want to swim in her dress, but she was far too excited and jumped right in. She looked ethereal, for the few moments before she decided she actually didn’t want to swim in her dress and stripped. She handed the dress to Ben who slung it over a tree branch that caught sunlight between higher branches. 

 

They were there for hours, Rey learning to hold her breath to dive to the very bottom and collect a pretty rock or two. 

 

“Happy Birthday! Happy happy birthday!” A girl sang as she came to the pond with a large basket. 

 

“Hi, Jana!” Rey shouted. 

 

“Hello, Birthday girl!” She returned. “I brought you lunch!” She showed the basket. “You, too, Your Highness!” Rey had once mentioned that he was a prince, and Jana had called him royalty ever since, though she would call Rey royalty just as much. 

 

Rey pulled herself out of the water, and she sat on a towel Ben had set out over a log earlier. 

 

The trio fell into a happy lull, chatting and eating, and Jana talking about what she would do for her birthdays. 

 

“I’m only 15 summers,” she told them. “But next year, I’m allowed to court.” Her cheeks reddened. 

 

“Ahhhh! Anyone you want to?” Rey asked, glancing at Ben. 

 

Jana timidly told them about a farm boy she fancied. 

 

Rey sighed and leaned against Ben’s shoulder. “That is so sweet.”

 

Ben smiled. “Did you ever have anyone you fancied?” He pointedly asked Rey. 

 

“I didn’t have time to fancy anyone. Not until I was head over heels in love with you.”

 

Jana sighed. “You’re my favorite couple.”

 

“One day, you’ll be a part of your own favorite couple,” Ben said. 

 

Jana’s face grew red as she giggled. 

 

Ben laughed at her and stood. “Do you want to help us set up for tonight?”

 

“What’s tonight?” Rey asked. 

 

“Dancing.”

 

Jana started picking up the picnic. “Not just, but yes.”

* * *

As the sun set, Rey found herself in awe. The rest of the afternoon had been spent setting up tables and chairs and setting out food and lighting the lanterns hanging from the trees at the edges of the wildflower field. The entire town had been invited to dance, and everyone had brought food or small presents. Jana had run home briefly but returned with her Uncle Dopheld Mitaka and her mother and father and a much younger brother. 

 

“Hello, Dopheld,” Ben said, holding out a hand for a handshake. 

 

The man stared up at him. “Ben Solo, I’m starting to believe you really have changed for the better.” He took the offered hand in a tight handshake. “I heard this was for Rey?”

 

Ben nodded. 

 

Mitaka nodded to his niece who shuffled in her basket for a handful of wrapped gifts. 

 

“One is from Uncle,” she explained, already moving to place them on the gift table she had already set up. “Then one from me, and my parents thought you’d like some fruit from our garden.”

 

Rey hugged Jana tightly. “Thank you so much!”

 

“Don’t open mine in company,” Dopheld Mitaka cautioned. “BB-J0 helped me find one of your belongings.”

 

“I won’t.” Rey frowned, wondering what he meant. 

 

At that point, the other guests were demanding to sing to Rey and for her to blow out candles on a tiered cake, and Ben ushered her to the table. Rey could hardly believe how much the people of the little village cared for her and Ben. She didn’t even know what to wish for when she blew out the candles. 

 

The night slipped into a whirlwind of dancing and cake and food, and Rey fell asleep in the middle of the field, staring up at the stars with Ben on one side, curling around her as he himself fell asleep, and with Jana on the other, tenderly holding hands with the timid farmboy in the other side, and a little girl who thought they were the prince and princess laid with her head next to Rey’s head and others in a contented leisure in the wildflowers and chairs. 

 

When Ben awoke with a cold nose and frigid fingers and Rey trying to snuggle closer, he scooped her into his arms, noticing most other guests had gone home. He carried Rey inside, and when he kicked the first step of the staircase, Rey stirred. 

 

“I want to open presents,” she murmured, rubbing her eyes. “At least the Mitakas.”

 

Ben nodded, turning and leaning over the back of their couch to set her down. He had already brought the gifts in before dancing had really started. He found the basket that had held the Mitakas gifts, and as he glanced over the corner filled with gifts, he felt a surge of pride at how much these people loved his Rey and how they treated her like a princess. He handed her the gifts and sat beside her. There were two jars of fruits with ribbons around the lids. Then Jana’s was a dress woven from a very soft material. 

 

“Did she make this?” Rey sighed rubbing her cheek against the dress. 

 

She then reached for the final gift. It was from Dopheld, and she tore the cover from the box to reveal Kylo Ren’s lightsaber nestled in a foam case. 

 

“I thought this was lost on Vengeance,” Rey sighed. She ran her hand over the hilt. 

 

Ben set a hand on hers. “You should keep it. It doesn’t feel so much like mine anymore.”

 

Rey nodded. “I wonder what’s going to happen now that Hux and Snoke...”

 

Ben shook his head. “Don’t.”

 

Rey snuggled closer to Ben. “I don’t want to, but I do worry.”

 

Ben kissed the top of her head. “We’ll leave this planet, soon. Find somewhere else to go. Somewhere we won’t be found.”

 

Rey nodded. “Ben, do you think that...you’ll ever be able to use the Force again?”

 

He was quiet. 

 

“I shouldn’t have asked.”

 

“It’s time for bed.”

 

 

 


	14. Join Me

“Where have you been?” Rey asked, looking over starmaps R2-D2 was displaying. 

 

Ben sat on the floor and started to point at various planets and systems, R2 marking them as he pointed them out. 

 

“So many,” Rey sighed. “Where should we go?”

 

R2 whistled. 

 

“We can’t go to Alderaan ,” Ben sighed. “Destroyed, remember?” 

 

Rey patted the droid’s dome. “It’s alright. We can go somewhere else.”

 

R2 whistled sadly. 

 

“Where is your home planet?” Rey asked the droid. At its answer, she looked to Ben. “Have you ever been to Naboo?” 

 

He was silent before reaching out to take her hand. “On a few occasions. My grandmother was Queen of Naboo when she met my grandfather.”

 

Rey smiled. “It would be nice to go.”

 

Ben nodded. “It’s beautiful there.”

 

Rey ran her thumb over the back of his hand. “I will miss it here, but we can come back.”

 

Ben nodded again and smiled at her. “I think you will love it there.”

* * *

Leaving Nara 7 was terribly sad. Rey hugged Jana three times before she said goodbye and another four times after. 

 

“I’ve never had a friend like you,” Rey said sadly. 

 

“Come back!” Jana pleaded. “After you have children! I want to meet them all!”

 

Rey felt her cheeks blush. That was not a fantasy they thought about often. They were too worried about themselves. They could hardly keep themselves safe. How would they be able to keep a small child safe?

 

Ben patted Jana’s head. “Thank you for your kindness.”

 

“Thank you, your highness.” She teased. 

 

They said their last goodbyes to those who had gathered to watch them leave, and Rey waved at Jana as the field of dying wildflowers shrunk out of sight. 

* * *

As Ben piloted the craft, he told Rey the tale of how Anakin Skywalker was freed from slavery, met Padme Amidala, and helped free Naboo from the clutches of the Trade Federation. 

 

“And that little boy grew up into Darth Vader,” she mused. 

 

“Ultimately to save the woman he loved and their child.” He glanced at Rey in the copilot chair. “She didn’t know she was carrying twins until she delivered. He didn’t know until he saw Leia in Luke’s mind. And when he learned Luke was his son, he offered him the galaxy, a place to rule at his side.”

 

“How did Luke take it?“

 

“Well, he had just had his hand taken off with a saber, and he jumped down an exhaust shaft.”

 

“So I didn’t overreact when you asked me to join you.”

 

There was a beat of heavy silence before Ben erupted into hearty laughs. “I was the one who overreacted.”

 

Rey reached over and took his hand. “How much longer until Naboo?”

* * *

Landing on Naboo felt like coming home to a place she had only walked in dreams. 

 

“It’s beautiful,” she sighed as Ben brought them down to a waterside house nestled among mountains and lakes. “There’s so much life here.”

 

Ben nodded. “You’ll have to learn how to swim properly.”

 

“You have to teach me.”

 

Ben nodded again, concentrating on landing their ship. “We’re in the Lake Country,” he told her. “We’re very isolated here.”

 

Rey smiled. “We’re safe here.”

 

Ben smiled back.

* * *

They took their peace and used it to sleep. Their new home was a large vacation house, the closest thing Rey had ever seen to a castle. Ben had called the home Varykino, telling her about her extended family, the Naberrie family. He had asked to hide there, and they knew enough of their situation and their family history and the state of the universe that they happily allowed them to stay. They did not expect to be headed there for a long while anyways, leaving them to their own devices. 

 

Ben was the one to wake First, morning light streaming through golden windows. He ran his hand over Rey’s back and kissed her shoulder and her cheek. 

 

“First swimming lesson,” he murmured into her ear.

 

“Food first,” Rey murmured back. 

 

He happily obliged, and once Rey was awake and fed, he dragged her to the beach. “To the island,” he said, already wading into the water and pulling her along. 

 

“Is it far?” She asked. 

 

“Don’t worry, Sweetheart. I’ll be right beside you.”

 

And he was. Every motion, every doubt, every stroke, every reach, he was beside her, keeping her safe until they scrambled up onto the sandy beach of the island. 

 

There were birds singing, and there were trees everywhere, and they warmed themselves in the sand. Once she was no longer dripping, Ben took her hand and pulled her up to her feet. 

 

“There’s ancient buildings,” he told her. And there were, long lost columns and crumbling walls all reclaimed by nature. 

 

“It’s so beautiful,” she sighed once again, taking it all in. 

 

They came to a gazebo, covered in vines and dirt, but they were high enough up the island that they could look out over the lake. Rey went to the railing, leaning over, trying to remember everything.

 

“Rey,” Ben said softly behind her. 

 

Rey turned her head to look at him, and her heart skipped a beat. She turned fully, lowering herself from her tiptoes to stand firmly on both her feet. 

 

Ben Solo was kneeling on one knee, a small box held in his hands. He slowly opened it to reveal a simple shining ring, a sparkling stone set into a twisting band, like vines cherishing a blossom. His eyes were pleading with her, searching for words. “Will you?” He whispered, all other words gone from his mind. 

 

Rey took a step forward, then fell to her knees, putting her hands in his hair, kissing him fervently. “Yes,” She murmured when she moved to breathe. “Yes.” She kissed him again, glad he was pulling her closer against him.

 

He fumbled with the ring in the box behind her back as he tried to deepen the kiss. He finally pulled it free from its container, and he pulled her from him, taking her left hand from his hair. “I only ever wanted you,” he whispered, finally slipping the ring on her finger. 

 

She only gave it a glance before taking his cheek. She stopped, staring at her hand that now had his ring that was caressing his scar that she had given him. “You’ve always been mine,” she whispered in return. 


	15. Nothing Can Stand Against It

The days after their engagement felt like a paradisiacal blur. They were always in each other’s arms. They were in a beautiful place. They were safe and hidden. They wanted for nothing. 

 

Except Ben for his connection to the Force. 

 

Late at night, when Rey was asleep, he would meditate as his uncle had taught him. He only felt the walls of his own mind go up around him, keeping him isolated. He found deep in his soul where Snoke had destroyed his connection. It felt like a blaster fire to his heart, smoking and seared. He poked and prodded and pulled, and none of his own actions seemed to do any good. 

 

Rey took a deep breath in her sleep, shifting slightly. She was calm, confident in her content. Ben pressed a kiss to his own fingertips that he then pressed to her forehead. 

 

He stood and went to the drawer that they kept his saber and the split kyber crystal in. The shattered pieces sparkled in the moon light. He turned his attention to his lightsaber, taking it and quietly shutting the drawer. He wandered down through the vacation home to a large open room. He was sure they used to hold dances and parties and galas and events here. It was now a little dusty and dark, except for rectangles of moonlight on the exquisitely tiled floor. Ben physically shut the door behind him, mourning how much he used the Force without consideration before. He strode to the center of the room, and he sat at the edge of one of the patches of light. 

 

He held the saber so he could examine it. He knew it well, knew every connection, every patch and fix, every scratch and blemish. He ignited the blade. He was pushed back from the sheer power it took. When was the last time he had held and used this tool? Had he really forgotten the need to ground himself before lighting it? The saber felt chaotic in his hands. It hummed and buzzed and crackled. It felt so foreign to him now. Where was the anger he had constructed it with? Where was the passion and the deep set pain? He looked inward, and instead of the wild imbalance of a boy looking for his place in the galaxy, he found a still lake of a man whose soul was focused on one thing: his love, his partner, his eternal companion. He had been impulsive and reckless and angry, a monster before he had found her. It was clear to him now that he needed her so much more than he had ever known. 

 

The saber echoed that. It no longer felt like his weapon. It no longer felt like a mirror of his soul. It no longer felt like an extension of self. It was a momento of a lost angry child. 

 

He extinguished the blade and stood. Rey could wield it much better than he could now. It will have to do. 

 

He had barely reached the door when a terrifyingly familiar presence traced the edges of his consciousness. He could no longer reach out, but he could feel when Rey reached in, but this was not Rey. This was more ancient and more malevolent. 

 

“You don’t want me,” He growled, reaching out to steady himself against the wall beside the door. “You severed my connection. I am of no use to you.”

 

_No use no use no use_ , the words echoed through his mind. _No use. All that has made you special has been ripped away._  

 

Ben pushed the door open. He had to get back to Rey. He thought he had rid himself of his abuser when he sliced Snoke in half. He had been so wrong. 

 

_She can’t save you. No one can save you. You’re not good enough to be saved._  

 

Ben struggled up the stairs to the room they chose, wishing that he could instead destroy the bastard for good, wishing that he could use the Force to burn away the last tendrils Snoke had in the galaxy. 

 

_She doesn’t love you. She’s only with you because you won’t kill her. Everyone in her life wants to destroy her. Even you. You only hide it from her because you’ve forgotten the pain she caused you. That scar she gave you. She left you alone and broken on Starkiller. She left you after you destroyed everything for her. She left you when you offered her the Galaxy. She left you on Crait, a hopeless man with no direction. When will she leave you next?_

 

Ben remembered the moment he saw her on Crait, when she closed the bond on his begging eyes. He remembered the pain in his soul when he awoke in the throne room and she wasn’t there. 

 

_She cannot save you now, my unworthy apprentice._

 

Ben realized his movement up the stairs had stopped, leaving him doubled over, clutching the steps in front of him. Tears were now cooling against his anger flushed cheeks. 

 

“Need a hand, kid?” Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master, Force Ghost, was taking a seat on the stairs beside him. 

 

Ben lashed out, throwing his fist at Luke’s face. It went straight through and landed against the stone steps. He hissed in pain, bringing his injured knuckles to his mouth. 

 

“He makes you angry, Ben. He makes you hate yourself. You can’t believe what he tells you. I did. It brought more harm than good.” 

 

Ben stood and pushed up the stairs. 

 

“You’re welcome.”

 

“For what?” Ben growled, not looking at the mockery his uncle was throwing him. 

 

“Getting Snoke out of your mind just now.”

 

Ben searched the perimeter of his own mind and found them clear. Ben turned and looked back down at Luke who was standing now. 

 

“Ben, I know the pain of being separated from the Force. Mine was self-inflicted, and I should have never even considered it. It cost me more than what I was protecting.”

 

“And What was that that you were protecting?”

 

“Myself. That is not the point, Ben. There is a place, a fountain of the Force. Whatever Snoke snapped inside you can be healed there. Go to the planet Arvon. Bring Rey. I can haunt you all I want, but you won’t listen to me. She will protect and guide you more than I ever could.” Luke turned to leave, and he paused to just look over his shoulder and repeat, “Arvon and the Fountain of the Force. And get to Rey. Snoke’s giving her nightmares.”

 

Ben was running then. He threw open the door, and he felt like he had been stabbed through the heart. Rey was crying and whimpering in her sleep. She turned and screamed out, bringing a leg up under the sheets as if to protect herself. Ben bounded to the bed, taking her in his arms. 

 

“Rey, Sweetheart, I’m here, wake up,” he whispered. 

 

Her whimpering quieted as she stirred in his arms. 

 

Ben pressed kisses to her forehead. “Shhhh.”

 

“Ben,” she sobbed, trying to open her tired lids, exhausted from her night terrors. 

 

“I’m here,” He coddled. 

 

“I had a nightmare,” she cried, clutching his shirt. 

 

“It wasn’t real. I’ve got you.”

 

“It felt so real. Snoke—.”

 

“Shhhhh.”

 

“I thought I lost you.”

 

“A nightmare. Nothing more.”

 

“What if I do lose you?”

 

“That is never going to happen, Rey.” He took her hand that now wore his ring. “This is a promise.”

 

Rey buried her face again in his shirt. “You can’t promise that.”

 

“I can. And I promise you that you will never lose me. I belong to you. Even the Force says so.”

 

Rey peeked up at him. “It does, doesn’t it?”

 

Ben ran a hand over the scar on Rey’s arm. “The Force connected us through light years and across stars.” He cupped her cheek. “We are destined to be together. If the Force wills it, nothing can stand against it.” He presses his forehead against hers. “Nothing can stand against us.”


	16. Never Alone Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are looking up.

“So a planet called Arvon has a Force Fountain, and you’re trusting Luke, as a Force Ghost, when he says you’ll be able to reconnect to the Force if you go there.” Rey kicked her feet as she looked over at Ben from her perch on the kitchen counter. 

 

He put some vegetables in the already hot pan and nodded. 

 

“What’s changed in you that you’re willing to do as Luke asks?”

 

Ben shook the pan, making sure the food didn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. “You.”

 

Rey twerked her head. “What do you mean?”

 

“I can’t keep you or my promises to you if I don’t reclaim my connection to the Force. Without it, I am only a man, a man who loves you, yes, but not a man who can protect you.”

 

“Have I ever needed your protection?”

 

Ben laughed. “Only when I needed yours in return.”

 

“That’s right,” she purred, snatching a slice of vegetable from his cutting board. 

 

“Rey, before we leave, I’d like to get married here, spend a little time together before we’re off into danger again.” He added a sauce to the vegetables to the pan, the liquid hissing as it hit hot metal.

 

“I’d like that.”

 

Ben nodded, biting the inside of his cheek. 

 

“What’s wrong, Ben?”

 

“I’d always thought if I’d get married, my mother would be there…”

 

Rey slipped from the counter to wrap her arms around Ben’s waist. She laid her cheek against his back. “I don’t think it would happen, but I would like that.”

 

Ben nodded, focusing on cooking. “It would be too dangerous to get in contact with her, for both of us.”

 

Rey let go of his waist. “What day?”

 

Ben looked over his shoulder. “There’s no one we really need to invite...”

 

“Who would marry us?”

 

R2-D2 beeped from its charging station. 

 

“Can droids do that?”

 

Ben smiled at her. “If we want. I think it’s perfect.” He tossed the vegetables in the pan. “What I’m worried about is what you’ll wear.”

 

Rey laughed. “Whatever I wear is going on the floor of our bedroom the moment the ceremony is over, and don’t say it’s not. I know you.”

 

“And I know you.”

 

“R2 is all we really need.” Rey summed up. 

 

“Then, we could get married today.”

 

Rey gasped. “Can we!?”

 

“I think at sunset, then?”

 

“At sunset.”

* * *

Rey and Ben didn’t bother with much of the various traditions. This was for them alone. They didn’t dare leave each other’s side, and so Ben helped Rey dress and do her hair. 

 

“If I remember this right,” Ben explained, “these are traditional wedding braids. R2, show me the holo again?” 

 

R2 obeyed, showing him a short holo of his mother on her wedding day, spinning in a circle with her brother laughing off to the side. 

 

“Pause?” Ben asked, and the droid froze the scene so he could examine the back of Leia’s hair. 

 

“She looks so happy,” Rey sighed. 

 

“My parents did love each other,” Ben told her. He swallowed, making his adam’s apple bob. “They even loved me.”

 

“And you loved them in return. And now, you love me.”

 

“And now I love you.”

 

R2 whistled at them and changed the holo to a very different one of two very beautiful people facing each other. 

 

“R2, What’s this?” Ben asked, studying the holo. 

 

“I love you, Anakin,” the woman said. 

 

Ben lowered himself to his knees, keeping a hand on Rey’s arm as she turned to watch. R2-D2 beeped about how this was classified, but how the droid thought they would like to see the wedding of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala. 

 

“She is so beautiful,” Rey whispered. 

 

“They’re my grandparents,” Ben whispered. “They were married in secret.”

 

“Just like us, Ben.”

 

They watched as they kissed, the holo flickering as the lighting of the sun behind them warped the recording. 

 

Rey reached out and took Ben’s cheek in her hand. “Finish my hair, Ben, and then we’ll go get married.”

* * *

Rey and Ben stood at the edge of the beach as the sun began to set. Rey stared up at the man she loved. His eyes hadn’t left her since they had gone outside to watch the sun set. In the angle of the light, his eyes sparkled in rich dark browns, amber, copper, chocolate. Rey was lost in his expression and could not remember anything he said, anything R2 beeped. All she could whisper in return was “I love you, Ben.”

 

Ben was smiling. His face was lit with the light of the sun, but his face was even brighter as he stared into the face of the woman he loved. He was proud of her braids he had finished, and the dress she had picked from the things the Naberrie family had left in the vacation house was flowing and ivory, reminiscent of the wraps she wore on Jakku. She was more beautiful than he could ever imagine by the sheer fact that she was marrying him. 

 

“You’ll never be alone again,” he whispered hoarsely, already feeling tears in his eyes.

 

“Neither will you,” she returned. She squeezed his hand in hers. 

 

R2-D2 beeped the official bits, and then the droid beeped for them to kiss, in the droid’s typical blunt vocabulary. 

 

Ben laughed at the droid, but Rey practically leaped on him, kissing his laughing lips. He held her tight against him, trying to memorize how she felt against him in the first moments of her being his wife. Rey was his wife. They were married. They were going to be together forever. 

 

R2-D2 watched, recording the pair, stowing it away in its memory banks, right next to the weddings of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala and Leia Organa and Han Solo. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rey's Dress looks like this from [DorrisWedding](https://www.dorriswedding.com/long-sweetheart-tulle-modern-dress-with-crisscross-ruching-p100638.html)
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	17. Old Friends

Ben and Rey lingered in their paradise, in their heaven, in their castle. They both knew in the back of their minds that this could not and would not last. They were ensuring that they had their peace and their honeymoon. They spent their time constantly entangled, always touching. When they did leave the vacation home, they were never far from each other, marveling in the beauty around them, exploring the nature they adored. 

 

They were holding hands, feet in the water, staring out over their heaven. And in that moment, they felt their time coming to an end. 

 

“It’s time to leave, isn’t it?” Rey asked softly, eyes on the horizon where water met sky. 

 

Ben nodded. “I feel it, too.”

 

They left before the sun set, wanting to remember their paradise in a golden light. They had been preparing to leave anyways. Most of their things were on the ship. The ship was ready to go. The last things they took from the home they had were Ben’s saber, the red saber Snoke had bestowed upon Rey, and the split crystal that had carried a legacy. 

 

R2 waited at the ship, and Ben felt no compulsion to look back. Rey was ahead of him, already boarding their new home of their ship. He ushered R2 ahead of him as he boarded and closed the ramp. 

 

“You put blackberries in the medbay,” Rey smiled at Ben as he took the pilot chair. 

 

“I also put in those vines with those pink flowers, that climbed the house. They’re very small now.”

 

“They’ll grow.”

 

Ben nodded and took off, easily slipping them out of the atmosphere. 

 

“Alright, R2,” Ben called, glancing over his shoulder to look at the droid. “Interface with the ship and start our course?”

 

R2 beeped am affirmative and plugged in. 

 

“How long will it take to get there?” Rey asked. 

 

“It’s beyond the outer rim,” Ben said simply with a shake of his head. “There’s very few records of the planet, and it’s the only habitable planet in its system. It’s a long ways, and the closer we get, the more uncharted it is. This isn’t an overnight hyperdrive trip, Sweetheart. This is a long haul.”

 

Rey sighed. “Will we stop anywhere?”

 

R2 whistled. 

 

“Well, Yes we will need to refuel.”

 

R2 beeped. 

 

“Twice?” Rey asked with raised eyebrows. “It’s so far away we need to stop to refuel twice?”

 

“Probably a third time before we arrive to be sure that we can get back.”

 

Rey nodded. “I guess it wouldn’t do if this Force Fountain was somewhere close.”

 

“Somewhere civilized.” Ben shifted in his seat as R2 worked through the routes. “Arvon isn’t where you found Luke, is it?”

 

Rey shook her head. “A place called Ach-to. That’s where all the porgs on the Falcon came from.”

 

Ben frowned. “I’ve never heard of it.”

 

“You never did retrieve the map from me, did you? You got distracted after you saw the island.”

 

“No, I got distracted when I felt how lonely you were.”

 

[get a room.] R2 beeped at them. 

 

“We’re married, R2,” Rey chided. “We will be as loving as we please.”

 

R2 whistled something about at least they didn’t do things on the console, but Ben ignored the droid, sure it was referencing his family. 

* * *

Their trip was going to take weeks, and the first time they landed on a planet to refuel, Rey could have kissed the dirt. She had spent a long time on ships before but she still hadn’t gotten used to it. She felt deprived of sunshine and fresh air and feeling real gravity beneath her feet. 

 

This planet was a a space port mainly. There was no shortage of seedy characters just passing through. Rey couldn’t stand the thought of going back into space so soon, and she begged Ben to go see the port, however briefly it was. 

 

She and Ben headed through the hangars and repair shops and taverns, taking in the sights. 

 

“It feels like Niima Outpost,” she whispered to Ben, finding herself getting nervous at the familiarity. 

 

“I’ve got you. There’s no business for us here. We just wanted to see,” Ben reminded her. “You don’t belong here. We’re just tourists looking in.”

 

Rey nodded. They did their round, picked up a few strange fruits to keep Rey’s curiosity at bay, and circled back around to head back to their ship. 

 

They froze in their tracks when a shout in shyriiwook called out to them. 

 

“Chewie?” Ben gasped. 

 

“Chewbacca!” Rey cried, already spinning to find the Wookie. 

 

He stormed his way through the crowd to them, and he didn’t pause to pull the both of them into his arms in the same embrace. Rey was laughing and hugging him back until she hear Ben beside her sobbing into his fur. 

 

“Can we go somewhere private?” She asked. 

 

The wookie carried the both of them to the next hangar over where the Millennium Falcon was in the middle of repairs. Ben’s eyes were still read from crying,  but Rey took his hand. She suddenly beamed. 

 

“Chewbacca, we’re married!” Rey announced, holding out her hand with the ring. 

 

Chewbacca roared congratulations and scoldings for not inviting him. Ben leaned closer to Rey, wrapping his arm around her. Chewie told them about how it was lonely on the Falcon and how he really needs a copilot. 

 

Rey’s face lit up and Ben’s face dropped. 

 

“We can’t, Chewie,” he sighed. “We’re trying to lay low. If we’re found by the Resistance, we’re both dead. If we’re found by the First Order, we’re dead.”

 

“But what ship is faster than the Falcon?” Rey begged. 

 

“How many YT Corellian Freighters are out there?” Ben pointed out. 

 

“Who better to help us than Chewie!”

 

“We’ll be spotted and killed.”

 

“Chewie will rip their arms off!”

 

Ben sighed and looked back at the wookie. “Will you kill me in my sleep?”

 

Chewbacca’s roars were affirmative, but joking, and his whines told him that he’d be terrified of Rey ripping his arms off if he touched Ben. 

 

“That’s right!” Rey nodded, hands on her hips. She looked at Ben imploringly. 

 

Ben smiled, then looked at the floor and nodded. “It would be good to make sure the walking carpet is taken care of.”

 

Chewie pulled Ben into his arms and whined his happiness. 

 

“He can’t breathe!” Rey laughed. Chewie let go and growled his happiness, patting Ben on the head. 

* * *

It wasn’t difficult to switch over. They sold their ship, paid for the parts Chewie needed for the Falcon, and moved Rey’s beginnings of a garden into the medbay. R2-D2 was happy to be back on the familiar ship, too, immediately pulling all the autonav over to the Falcon’s computers. Chewie leaned against the wall to the cockpit and offered Ben and Rey the captains quarters. 

 

They glanced at each other and smiled, heading into the cockpit to prepare to take off. Rey took the copilot chair, and Ben snorted. 

 

“You’re going to copilot?”

 

“I could pilot if you wanted.”

 

Chewbacca whined something about leaving them to it and walked off. 

 

Ben was already leaning over the chair, caressing her cheek as he brought her in for a kiss. 

 

“How are you so perfect?” He murmured, kissing her again. 

 

Rey laughed and tugged on his collar. “Well, come on and pilot with me.”

 

Ben obeyed, taking the seat and prepping to break through the atmosphere. 

 


	18. News

“General,” one of the young Resistance fighters greeted, holding out a holocom. “There’s a transmission for you from Chewbacca through the astromech droid, R2-D2.”

 

Leia’s eyes widened as she thanked them and took the communicator to her private quarters. She set the device on her desk and set herself on a low bench. 

 

“Chewie, R2,” she greeted. Chewbacca appeared in the view of the holorecorder, and she leaned forward. “How did you find R2-D2?” She implored. 

 

The wookie told how he ran into Ben and Rey, and R2 beeped out of view about how the couple was looking for Force things and places. Chewbacca reached out to knock the droid to remind it of something. The communicator beeped as a file was sent through the connection, and the communicator replaced the view of Chewie with a scene of Ben and Rey holding hands from R2’s low view. 

 

They were speaking low, but it was clear the moment they embraced and kissed that it was a marriage ceremony. 

 

Leia started to cry. “My son, he looks so happy.”

 

She watched the ceremony on repeat, marveling at how happy and light and lovely the scene was, until she was summoned away to her duties. 

* * *

Rey and Ben and Chewie cycled through piloting, with R2 checking their course every so often. 

 

Rey plopped down at the dejarik table, switching it on to find that their pieces hadn’t moved since the night Poe found out about the Force Bond. She smiled at Ben who had taken a couple fruits from their excursion and was biting into one. He tossed her the other as he took his seat across from her. 

 

“We never finished our game,” she told him, pointing to the pieces. “And now you can’t cheat.”

 

“But now you can,” Ben chuckled taking another bite out of his fruit. 

 

“Would I?”

 

Ben leaned over and planted a sticky fruit flavored kiss on her lips. “I wouldn’t believe it if you did.”

 

Rey smirked, taking a hold of the produce in his hand and bringing it to her mouth to take a huge chunk out of it. 

 

“That, I can believe.”

 

She laughed with a mouthful of fruit. “Your turn.”

 

Ben smiled and took his turn. 

* * *

The strange fruit treated neither of them well. The pair was confined to their cabin in cold sweats and nausea. Chewbacca scolded them, saying something about it having to be cooked correctly and they didn’t even wash it before they ate it and all the scoldings of a worried mother in the body of a centuries old wookie. 

 

They were miserable for the next leg of the trip, and just starting to get over their intestinal tracks being completely trashed when they landed on a seedy outer rim world to refuel. 

 

Ben was getting well enough that he accompanied Chewie off the ship to get supplies, but as they passed an open air tavern where the news was being broadcast over a transportable holo, he reached out and grabbed Chewie’s fur. 

 

“What am I doing on the news? What is Rey doing on the news?” He said, still feeling clammy. He stared at their marriage holo as they replayed Rey bounding up to kiss him. 

 

Chewbacca grumbled at Ben but stood by his side. 

 

“With the deaths of Supreme Leaders Snoke and Hux in recent memory,” the reporter crackled over the speakers, “and this new revelation of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren leaving the First Order directionless in favor of forbidden trysts with the Resistance’s wayward Jedi, we are seeing the beginnings of a Galaxy in utter chaos, without order and without hope. The First Order is currently undergoing a reorganization as many generals are vying for power over the largest military power and largest employer in the Galaxy.” The reporter took a breath, and Ben imagined him turning in his chair. “As we wait for further news on the Supreme Leader and the Last Jedi, we are all left to wonder, who is a traitor to what?”

 

Ben’s stomach took that opportunity to cramp and try to expel the little he had tried to eat that day. 

 

Chewbacca whined, easily picking the full grown man up in his furry arms, insisting on getting him back to the Falcon. 

* * *

 “How did this get out all over the holonet?” Leia glared at the group of young Resistance fighters surrounding her, Poe, Kaydel, Finn, Rose, giving each a sturdy glare. 

 

“It was me,” Finn said, stepping forward. “I stumbled across it and then showed Rose. I didn’t mean for it to go beyond the base.”

 

Poe was staring straight ahead, grinding his jaw. “I had nothing to do with this. If you remember, they are both dangers to the Resistance, and they should both be dead.”

 

“Dameron, after seeing that holo, you’re still convinced that they’re dangerous?” Leia leaned more heavily on her cane. 

 

Poe softened at that and folded his arms across his chest. 

 

“I know none of you meant anything malicious, but we are now in a very dangerous position, now that the galaxy knows we have no Jedi.”


	19. Balancing Books

“What do you mean our wedding holo is all over the news?” Rey asked, stretching out on their bed, trying to get her stomach to feel better after their run in with ill prepared fruit. 

 

Ben ran his hand through his hair and sat on the floor next to the bed. “Just that. I don’t know how it got there, but a newscaster was discussing it like it was some propo about some royalty.”

 

“You are royalty, aren’t you?”

 

“Yes, but that is not the point.”

 

“What are we going to do?”

 

“One plan at a time, Rey. Get to Arvon, fix my Force connection.”

 

“What about after?” 

 

“Deal with the Galaxy now thinking we’re both criminals from kissing on the evening news.”

 

“After that?”

 

“I say Canto Bight would still be nice to see, or even show you Coruscant. Go somewhere busy with lots of people to get lost in.”

 

“And after that?”

 

“Traipse through a few planets, build your plant collection. I think after that,” he continued, knowing she just wanted to hear him talk to get her attention off her discomfort, “we’ll find somewhere to settle down, start a farm, build a home, try for a baby, maybe two, live like how we did on Nara 7, close to the ground, close to the people in the nearby town, this time, no First Order knocking down our door.” He looked up at Rey. “Would you like that?”

 

“It sounds so lovely, Ben. A family of our own.” She looked up at the ceiling. “I’ve only ever thought about my parents coming back for me. I never thought about having children.”

 

Ben turned so his chin was on the mattress, looking up at her like a devoted pet. “How many would you like?”

 

Rey looked down at him. She reached out, and he reached back, taking her hand. “One, I think. A little boy like you."

 

Ben smiled. “He would love his mother, and have her eyes.”

 

Rey sighed. “What would we name him?”

 

Ben ran his thumb over Rey’s knuckles in his hand. “It would be cruel to name a little boy Rey after his mother, wouldn’t it?”

 

“Yes it would."

 

“Then, we’ll think of a name when the time comes."

* * *

As they started into their next leg of their journey, they chippered up and were headed back to normal, now more careful of what they ate.

 

“Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben,” Rey chanted excitedly as she dashed through the Falcon and into the cockpit, tripping over R2 and tumbling into Chewie’s lap, who was sitting and working on one of the side panels. Chewie laughed at her, and he picked her up and set her standing. 

 

Ben glanced back at her as he worked the Millennium Falcon through an asteroid field to where they could make their next hyper speed jump. “What are you so excited about, Sweetheart?”

 

“Ancient Sacred Jedi Texts.”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

"Ancient Sacred Jedi Texts,” she gasped happily, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Once you make the jump, come and see.”

 

“Well, strap in.”

 

Rey happily obliged, jumping into the pilot’s chair that Chewie usually occupied. “When I left Ach-to, I believed that you would turn, but Luke didn’t, and I tried to get him to help me,” she started into an explanation, “he wouldn’t, telling me that you were lost. I didn’t believe that, as you can tell now, and before I left the island and the planet, I snuck into the Force Tree and stole these sacred texts! On real paper, Ben! I’ve never seen real paper, before! But there’s books full of it!”

 

Ben sent her a crooked smile. “You Stole ancient Jedi books from a Force tree right from under Jedi Master Luke Skywalker‘s nose as you were just about to run off to try to turn me to the light side?”

 

“And...?”

 

“I can’t believe how much I love you.”

 

Rey beamed at him, taking the controls in front of her to help Ben make it through the asteroid field. 

* * *

When they were safely in hyperspace, they were back in the common area, pouring over the books trying to make sense of the archaic writing. 

 

“These are incredible,” Ben whispered, his fingertips ghosting over the ancient parchment. “The foundations of the Force. Technique, respect of the living.” He gasped as he turned a page. “Balance.” He pointed to the picture that was simply drawn, but it depicted such familiar silhouettes of themselves, locked in a meditative pose. 

 

Rey reached out to stroke his cheek and his scar. “We are a balanced Force.”

 

Ben looked up at her, marveling at the clarity in her hazel eyes, the understanding radiating from her soul. “We…”

 

Rey kissed his forehead, where the beginning of his scar broke his brow. “Yes, we. Balance. There is balance. We are balance.”

 

Ben moved forward and pressed a soft kiss to her chin. “You are the light to my dark.”

 

Rey lowered her face so their foreheads touched. “There is light in you. Just as there is darkness in me.” She pulled back only slightly so she could stare into his eyes again. “When I first felt the Force awaken inside me,” she ran a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face, "I was afraid. But now, after I’ve come to the edge of the light and took steps beyond, into the darkness, I’m not afraid anymore. I’m not afraid because I’ve found you.”

 

Ben felt tears well up into his eyes from the depths of his soul, and he surged forward, capturing her mouth with his own and feeling the dam of tears break, streaming over his face. He cradled her head in his hand, pulling her closer. She pressed her chest to his, deepening the kiss, feeling him fill every broken crack of her soul. 


	20. Old Wisdom

Rey and Ben curled around each other, fast asleep, listening to the hum of the Falcon’s hyperdrive. Chewbacca kept watch in the cockpit. R2-D2 was plugged into a charger and into the onboard computer, checking and rechecking the navigation. 

 

All was fine and calm in their little pocket of galaxy. 

 

Outside, a war simmered. The First Order was splitting into factions, warring among themselves. The Resistance was crawling beneath the radar, trying to stay out of the fray until they could regrow their numbers. Anyone who fell in as a civilian felt the building pressure of the metaphorical rocket that was their galaxy. 

 

Back on the Resistance ships, looking for another base, Poe sulked in a corner of the command center. 

 

“How are you doing?” A quiet Kaydel Connix asked, offering him a cup of caf. 

 

Poe looked up at her and frowned. “Alright, you?” He took the cup, but only looked at it. 

 

“Alright. You should trust Leia. She’s seen more than any of us.”

 

Poe looked to the middle distance. “I wonder if she’s not seeing what’s right in front of her face.”

 

Kaydel turned away from him. “You certainly aren’t.”

 

“What do you—.” Poe’s face fell. “Oh, Kaydel, I’m sorry...” 

 

She shrugged. “I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up, especially now. You’re really only focused on the Resistance.” She strode away, leaving Poe with his rapidly cooling caf. 

 

“She really does like you,” Leia told him, leaning back in her chair so she was no longer obscured by the screens. 

 

“You heard that?” Poe winced. 

 

“I understand, Poe, more than you know. I do want my son back, but he’s not coming back, not to me, not to the Resistance.”

 

Poe took a swig of his drink and went to stand beside her. “They could destroy us all, Leia.”

 

Leia laughed. “If they wanted to, they would be in the middle of everything, not running off to pretty planets and kissing in sunsets.”

 

Poe gave a smile at that. “You’re trying to teach me some lesson.”

 

“Yes!” Leia put her feet up on the control desk. “Get your head out of the dogfights and down where your feet are, take that girl on a date, spend some time with Finn and Rose, and stand down for a bit. Remember that you are only human, Poe. We have the time, we have a moment of peace, and we’re not going to need you in a ship to blow something up for a while, so go enjoy yourself.”

 

Poe laughed and let his shoulders relax. “I’ll try.”

 

“That’s an order, Dameron.”

 

He put his free hand up in the air and started walking away. “Alright alright!”

 

She watched after him as the doors closed. “Finn, you can come out now.”

 

Finn scrambled out from under the control desk, brushing off his pants. 

 

“You can’t keep avoiding Poe,” Leia scolded

 

“Not after you just ordered him to spend time with me.” Finn set a hand on the desk. “He wants Rey dead. She’s my friend. How can I be civil with him?”

 

“It’s not about that, Finn. He’s scared and reckless. He has the potential to be a great leader, but he’s so stuck on who is on whose side, that he can’t take a step closer and see who is acting morally.” Leia put her feet down and leaned over to grab her canteen. “That’s why he needs you. You’ve already gotten over who’s wearing what mask. You’re now looking at who they are underneath it all.” She unscrewed the lid and took a drink. “You’re the trooper who defected. You were running away. Poe never saw that. He would have tazed you just like Rose did.”

 

Finn laughed. “I couldn’t feel my teeth.”

 

“Finn, spend some time with Poe, and remind him what we’re fighting for.”

 

“Aye aye, General.” He gave her a hug and strode away. 

 

The last of them, Rose peeked around the next station over. 

 

“Thank you so much, Princess General Leia,” Rose chattered. “I just couldn’t stand them avoiding each other any more!”

 

“I admire what you say, Rose. Save what you love.”

* * *

Ben gasped, clutching Rey who was practically beating his chest. 

 

“You were having a nightmare,” she told him with concern. She then put her hands flat on his chest so she could push herself up to look at him. “You were screaming. You wouldn’t let me go.”

 

“I’m sorry, Sweetheart,” he whispered, stroking her hair. “I was having a nightmare. Snoke...”

 

Rey studied his eyes and then laid back on his chest, listening to his thrumming heartbeat. “How do we know he’s not trying to...do what he did to Hux to us?”

 

Ben worked on regulating his breathing. “Would you believe me if I told you that Luke appeared to me as a Force Ghost?”

 

“No, she wouldn’t,” Luke Skywalker said, appearing in his blue translucent haze in the middle of their room. 

 

“Kriff!” Rey scrambled behind Ben, pulling the cover over them. 

 

Luke raised an eyebrow at them. “Now is not the time for that. I’ve been keeping Snoke at bay and away from the both of you, but your signatures are becoming much brighter, and more difficult to hide. You cannot lead Snoke to Arvon. You have to destroy Snoke before you reach the fountain, or else you are going to have a being of pure Force energy coming after the both of you.”

 

“How do you expect us to do that?” Ben groaned, shifting so he was sitting up and hiding a partially dressed Rey behind him. 

 

“I believe you already have the answer in Rey’s possession.”

 

“The texts.”

 

“Smart, Rey,” Luke said, narrowing his eyes. He was about to tell them that he was going to destroy them, but he thought better. “In the texts, you will find information on how to destroy Snoke. May the Force be with you.”

 

Luke disappeared then, leaving them alone in their dark bedroom of the Millennium Falcon. 

 

“Has he always been able to do that?” Rey groaned, flopping back down into their pillows. 

 

“Only when he has some sort of knowledge to bestow.” He stood and stretched his arms over his head. “I think he likes playing the part of mystical master. He always told stories of Force ghosts of Obi-Wan Kenobi or Yoda or my grandfather.” He bent over and picked a shirt up off the floor to pull on. “I was always jealous I never saw any Force ghosts.”

 

“I’d rather not have Force Ghosts popping in when I’m not wearing a shirt,” Rey snuggled into the pillows, getting comfy. 

 

“You’re one to talk.”

 

“I did not know you weren’t wearing a shirt. That was all the Force.” She yawned. “And a good thing too or else I’d still be calling you a monster.”

 

Ben leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I don’t mind.”

 

“What do you like me to call you?“

 

“My name, Ben.”

 

Rey smiled, already falling back to sleep. “Good, because Kylo Ren is a ridiculous name.”

 

He chuckled at that and left to peruse the ancient Jedi texts. 


	21. Live Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this at 3 in the morning because I heard this song called "Live Life" by Zayde Wolf. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgxYhqpBmdU
> 
> and it was originally meant to just be a cute fluff one shot, but then it became a dream, and then it became plot.  
> I am so tired, I hope this is coherent.
> 
> Edit:  
>   
> I made an aesthetic!
> 
> Come follow me on tumblr: pulltothelight

 

_The sun shone down on Rey, lighting up her freckles and her cheeks and the gold specks in her eyes. He held her hands tightly as they spun in the field of yellow wildflowers. She smiled and laughed, and it was all for him._

 

_Or it was until he was reminded that it was only a daydream, and he still existed in the cold durasteel ship of the First Order in the lonely confines of space._

 

_Ben Solo, Kylo Ren, whoever he was in this moment, and even he had forgotten, stared out the view port at the stars. He had never really felt at home out in space, but he could stare at the stars for an eternity, and even longer now that he knew that Rey was out there somewhere in the galaxy. He wondered where she was. He wondered what she was doing. He wondered if she was thinking of him._

 

_The rhythm of trooper marching thrummed behind him like drumbeats, but he made no movement of recognition. His thoughts raced with the single phrase, “What am I going to do?” He was feeling all the more trapped, stuck in the suffocating sludge of the First Order._

 

_“Hello, Ben,” Rey’s sweet voice punctured his mourning._

 

_He spun to face her. “I didn’t think that you would speak to me again,” he said so softly, his shoulders relaxing, and his mouth finally smiling. After Crait, he had believed that._

 

_Rey raised an eyebrow. “I can’t live like that. This life is the only one we got.”_

 

_Ben felt his heart flutter. “It’s felt like forever since…”_

 

_Rey laughed, and she reached out her hand to him, like the night in the hut. “It’s now, Ben. Will you go where I go?”_

 

_Ben caught her hand and pulled her to him, catching her in a kiss, and they were again in sunshine and wildflowers. “You’re my home, Rey. You’re my life."_

* * *

Rey carded her fingers through Ben’s hair, feeling the waves of happiness flow through the Force off of his sleeping soul. She was sitting on the table where Ben was slumped over the ancient texts, sleeping soundly enough to be having a wonderful dream of him and her living some lovely life. She continued to get impressions of golden wildflowers and hand holding and a joy for life. She didn’t want to wake him: she adored his unconscious happiness. He had so many nightmares. He deserved his happy sleep. He was also drooling on a set of ancient Jedi texts.

 

She leaned over and kissed his forehead. “Good morning, Sweetheart,” echoing his pet name for her. 

 

“Morning, Rey,” he returned, trying to stretch and finding himself awkwardly twisting at the table.

 

She laughed at him. “Nice dream?” 

 

He sat up properly, and he gave her a wistful smile. “It was about you. You saved me from the First Order, and we danced in wildflowers.”

 

Rey beamed back at him. “It wasn’t just a dream. Those things did happen.”

 

Ben caught her hands and pulled her into his lap. “Then you’re a dream.”

 

“I’m better than a dream, Ben,” she told him, nuzzling against his chest. 

 

His breath caught suddenly. “You are. You are my home.”

 

Rey looked up at his eyes.

 

“My dream said that.”

 

Rey swallowed, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

 

Ben ran his thumb over the first escaped tear on her cheek. “And you asked me if I would go where you go.” 

 

“What did you say?” She asked, letting her sentimental tears drip down her rounding cheeks. Ben always felt so proud each time he noticed how much healthier and well fed she was now compared to when he first found the scavenger. 

 

“You are my home.” He nuzzled her hairline, pressing soft fluttery kisses against her forehead. “It was all sort of mixed up, but you brought light to everything. We lived life together like I never have, like I never could have without you.”

 

She buried her face in the crook of his neck, and he could feel the tears against his skin. 

 

“I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he whispered. 

 

“I’m just happy,” she managed to say through tears. 

 

Ben rubbed her back as she cried through the happiness that was too much for her.

 

“You were drooling on the sacred texts,” she told him, still sobbing and now laughing at it all.

 

He laughed with her, taking his sleeve and dabbing the moisture away from the parchment.

 

“Did you find anything?”

 

“A little. There is a bit when they talk about balance, about how beings with bodies will always be stronger than those who do not. They only have as much access to bodies as those bodies allow them. Those who do not have a body will always ultimately be at the will of the Force, especially the further away from death they are. They really do return to the Force.”

 

“But we can’t wait for him to fade away,” Rey said, trying to wipe tears away.

 

“No we can’t, but Luke said something about our signatures growing brighter. We are already stronger than Snoke…” his shoulders slumped. “At least you are. I don’t know what help I’ll be.”

 

Rey put a hand on each cheek and made him look at her. “You are my protection. The Force Bond protects us. I don’t have that protection without you.”

 

Ben’s eyes widened. “I think I have a plan.”

* * *

“You’re an idiot, Ben Solo,” Rey whispered, setting herself down cross legged across from where Ben sat in the same position. 

 

“I’m your idiot, Rey Solo,” he whispered back. “I’m doing this so we can be free and so we can live the life we were meant to.”

 

“Don’t leave me,” she asked, noticing her voice going hoarse. 

 

“Pull me back.” Ben closed his eyes and steadied his breathing, focusing on the remnants of his connection to the Force, calling out into the emptiness of space, calling out to that thing that once called itself his master.

 

It felt like forever until the familiar tendrils of Snoke’s probing force signature found its way back into Ben’s mind. 

 

_Ahhhh, you’ve prepared a place for me, so hungry for the power you’ve lost, the power only I can give you._

 

Ben made no answer, allowing the parasite to worm its way through him, take up residence. 

 

Suddenly, he felt a wave of the force flood into him. 

 

_Yes! You have missed this, have you not, young Solo?_

 

He could not lie so suddenly. “Yes,” he gasped, feeling like he was suddenly soaked with water after trudging through a desert. 

 

“Ben?” Rey’s small voice spoke.

 

He felt a foreign laugh come from his lips. “Your Ben is gone.”

 

‘Not me, that’s not me,’ Ben tried to fight, but his soul was drowning in the powerful hate and darkness that was thundering through his body. 

 

Ben had thought that he would retain some strength once he had lured Snoke into his body and mind, but Snoke had lived in Ben’s mind as long as Ben had been alive. He knew how to take all of Ben’s soul. The darkness was suffocating him, suffocating all the good that had grown from Rey.

 

"You thought,” Snoke’s cold calculating scowl echoed in Ben’s mind. _You thought you would be rid of me._ “You thought you would save Ben Solo from me?” 

 

Ben heard the cry of Rey far far away, through the ocean of black that was now ruling his body. He heard cries and shouts.

 

“Still you fight!” Snoke laughed through Ben’s voice. “He is mine, now, girl! You will never have him back!”

* * *

Rey tried to rush him again. It was terrifying to see Ben’s eyes change from the warm brown she knew to the coldest icy cobalt of Snoke. She wanted her Ben back. Their plan had been to simply touch once Snoke was settled into Ben’s mind, but they hadn’t planned on Snoke retaining his Force abilities in Ben’s disconnected body. She tried to jump onto him, but she was easily deflected with the Force, tumbling through their bunk on the Falcon.

 

The door slid open, and Chewbacca growled, asking what was wrong. 

 

“Not me!” Ben’s voice, pure and pained shouted from his body, given the moment of distraction. 

 

“You’re mine boy,” Snoke sneered, bending over as he worked at stuffing Ben’s consciousness even further down in the sticky tar of Snoke's cankerous soul that was taking up a more permanent residence with each passing moment. 

 

Rey ran forward again, doing the only thing she knew to do. Snoke sidestepped and ducked below Chewbacca’s attempt at catching him. Rey skid, turning, reaching out. Chewbacca roared, falling on top of Ben, forcing him to the floor. 

 

“Fools!” Snoke crowed, already lifting Chewbacca into the air with the force.

 

Rey caught Ben’s hand at last, and Ben screamed. Everything brightened, and Rey could feel the darkness being ripped apart and vaporized as it was expelled from Ben’s body. The instant Snoke was surely out, Chewbacca fell from his force hold, knocking the breath out of Ben.

 

“Get off him,” Rey sobbed, already pressing a hand to Ben’s face, begging Ben to open his eyes.

 

He was in such pain, from being thrown around, from being possessed, from being smothered by a wookie, from his soul trying to recover from being thrust back into such darkness. 

 

Chewbacca whimpered, confused. They should have told them what they were doing. Rey agreed. 

 

Ben blinked, trying to feel out for Rey. His warm brown eyes were back, though now blood shot and tear filled. “Is he gone?”

 

“He’s gone,” Rey comforted, pressing kisses to every inch of his face. “You were using the Force.”

 

“He was using the Force. I still can’t feel outside my own soul,” he lamented, trying to sit up, but wincing and falling back.

 

“You were just squished by a wookie,” she said simply, looking up at Chewie. “Something probably broke.”

 

At those words, Chewbacca scooped Ben into his arms and toted him gingerly to the medbay. Rey ran her hand through his hair once Chewie set him down and started examining him. 

 

“You saved me,” Ben whispered, trying to ignore the pain in his ribs.

 

“I love you. I need you.”

 

“Let me handle that, Chewie,” Luke Skywalker greeted, appearing on the other side of Ben. 

 

Chewbacca roared at the Force Ghost, but relented. 

 

Luke reached out, putting the image of his hands over Ben’s chest, repairing broken ribs and inflamed muscle, calming bruises, stitching up cuts, all with the Force. “I’m proud of you, Ben. See you around, Kid.” And as soon as he had come and healed Ben, he was gone.

 

“That’s enough excitement for one day,” Rey sighed, tugging on Ben’s sleeve to bring him back to their bed to sleep off this nightmare, knowing that good things lay ahead. 


	22. The Force of Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding their way to Arvon was simple enough. They had the coordinates. They had their route set. They had no more obstacles. Except for Arvon itself.

 

Arvon was entirely mountainous. The peaks were snow covered. The valleys were oceans and rivers. Trees and shrubs clung to the mountainsides. The little rock they could see was a ripple of purple and deep blue layers. There was no land for farming or cities. It would be lonely if it was not so filled with plant and animal life. 

 

“So, where do we look for the fountain?” Rey asked, curious of the new planet. 

 

“In the mountain tops,” Ben told her. “Freshwater springs, and we would want to find the head of the fountain, where the water comes from the rock. The higher, the more likely.”

 

“What about covered in clouds?” Rey asked, pointing to a series of mountains where their peaks were obscured by thick cloud cover.

 

“That is perfect.” Ben looked over at her. “Do you feel it?”

 

Rey smiled and nodded. “The Force is strong here.”

 

They dove into the clouds. “Be my eyes,” Ben asked, wary of the hidden stone.

 

Rey nodded, setting a hand on his knee across the console. She pointed through the clouds. “That way. I feel a pull that way.”

 

Ben obeyed, and as they dove further into the clouds, he swore he was seeing a spot of light grow brighter up ahead. 

 

“I see it, too,” Rey comforted, squeezing his knee. “Stop! It’s right below us!”

 

They hovered, navigating as low as they could to the icy peak. 

 

“Got us, Chewie?” Rey asked as they exited the cockpit. The wookie nodded.

 

Rey rushed to the ramp, waiting for Ben. He came up behind her with a long thick coat already on, and one in his hands. He held it out so he could help her slip her arms in the sleeves. He fastened the front closed, and he kissed her already chilled nose. 

 

“Keep the hood up, Sweetheart.” He settled the fur lined hood around her face.

 

“Yes, Ben,” she returned. “You too.” She tried to reach up to pull his hood up, but she caught the edge on the back of his head. He laughed and caught her hands. He pressed kisses to her knuckles. He pulled his hood up properly, and pressed the button to open the door so they could descend onto the mountaintop.

 

Rey shivered as the wind bit her cheeks. She held out her hand which Ben took as they hopped onto an outcropping. 

 

“Which way, Precious?” Ben asked. 

 

She grinned at him, and she tugged him along the craggy precipice towards the strongest force she had ever felt. “It’s getting lighter!”

 

The source of the light was the entrance to a cave. Rey looked to Ben, and before he could say anything, she pulled him straight into the light, into the beautiful Force cave in the mountain tops. 

 

It was warm. The air tasted like honey and was clear, without clouds. They were safe and shielded from the frigid wind outside. The light was emanating from a bubbling spring. It shimmered and glowed. It escaped from a hole near the ceiling of the cave, and it fell into a deep pond that had been carved by the very water it held. It tumbled from the cave through another bubbling hole near their feet where they entered. 

 

“I don’t know what to do,” Ben whispered.

 

Rey grinned. “Undress.”

 

Ben frowned. 

 

“Just do it, Ben.”

 

He obeyed, and she followed suit, or rather followed unsuiting. When they were down to their underthings, she pulled him to the edge of the pond. He stepped into the pond, and he took her by her hips and swung her into the water. 

 

“It’s so warm and lovely,” she sighed, throwing her arms around his waist. “I would say, try drinking it first,” she nodded to the waterfall. 

 

He obliged, striding over and hesitantly opening his mouth. He turned back to Rey.

 

“Anything?”

 

He shook his head. 

 

“Come here.”She held out her hand to him. He took it, and she pulled him close. She put a hand on his bare chest, pressed a kiss to his skin, then shoved him back to submerge him in the water. He splashed, recovering himself, now on his knees. Rey smiled mischievously.

 

Ben looked up at her, and he blinked, and he felt the Force flood back into his soul. He felt like he could breathe again. He could feel again. He could feel Rey. Oh his Rey was so bright. Brighter. Not just Rey.

 

He took a deep breath. “Rey, what were those words you said, in the elevator? About my future?” He reached out, putting his hands on her hips, pulling her close, though he was still on his knees. The water lapped around his biceps and around her waist.

 

“I said a lot of things,” she replied, curious. 

 

“What you saw?”

 

“How I saw the shape of it?”

 

Ben nodded. “Yes, that’s it. The shape, just the shape, but solid and clear.”

 

Rey shook her head. “This isn’t what I saw, Ben.”

 

“No, but I can feel you again. I can feel the Force again. Rey, I’m not just seeing you.”

 

“What do you mean?” 

 

“There’s another light, just the shape of it, but solid, and clear,” he whispered, tears filling his eyes, though he was sure they were disguised by the water. He moved one hand from her hip to the front of her abdomen. “Right here.”

 

Rey stared at him, and she slowly moved her own hand to cover his. She reached out through the force to feel Ben, and he excitedly showed her the light he felt within her. She felt tears prick the corners of her eyes. “A baby?”

 

“Our baby.” He pressed a kiss just below her belly button. 

 

“Ben, look.” 

 

Around them, the water splashes had frozen in mid air, and they were vibrating, as if with joy.

 

“That’s me,” he laughed, and he let the water droplets fall. “I’m connected to the Force. I can feel you. I can feel…” his voice choked up at that moment. He pressed his forehead to her stomach, nuzzling the tiniest new life there. 


	23. Surprise Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have another baby fic planned out, so to avoid redundancy, I’m going to skip most of the pregnancy baby stuff that isn’t this fic specific. 

“We should tell someone,” Rey whispered, running her hands through Ben’s hair. He had his ear pressed to her still flat stomach, trying to listen for life there. It was still much too early, but he was enamored already. 

 

“Who would we tell?” He asked, his big brown eyes looking up at her. “We already told Chewbacca and R2. Anyone else would put us in danger.”

 

She nodded. “I know. But I don’t want our baby to be alone like we were. I want them to have people in their life.”

 

Ben nodded, his hair tickling her stomach. “I understand.” He traced the edge of her ribs with his fingertips. “I guess we’ll be settling down a little sooner than expected.”

 

“Any planets you have in mind?”

 

Ben shook his head. “I can’t think of a single place that feels right.”

 

They fell into silence until a single thought that had been pestering her mind finally slipped out. 

 

“We should tell your mother.”

 

Ben searched Rey’s face. “Tell me how she survived?”

 

“I wasn’t there, Ben. I don’t know.”

 

Ben sat up and folded his legs beneath him. “I thought...we had killed her, my squadron. We blew up the command center. I felt her on board when they fired the missiles.”

 

Rey sat up and took his hand. “I’m sure it was the will of the Force.”

 

Ben smiled, but it was a grimace from the pain in his chest. Rey moved over to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, bringing him into a comforting embrace. He set his face in her shoulder and worked on setting his breathing in a comforting pattern. 

 

“She loves you, Ben. She still does.”

* * *

Ben awoke before Rey, and as much as he enjoyed these quiet moments, he drug himself out of bed and began his morning routine before heading to the cockpit to check on Chewie. 

 

“Where are we headed?” He asked, patting the wookie on the shoulder as he took the copilot seat. 

 

He replied with one word. 

 

“Takodana? Why are we going there?”

 

A series of growls. 

 

“Yes we would need to refuel before we get to Coruscant,” Ben groaned. He sat back in his chair. 

 

Chewie whined. 

 

“I don’t know where we want to settle down,” Ben answered. 

 

Chewbacca set off on a soft set of growls. 

 

Ben laughed. “I don’t know how well we’d do on Kashyyk, buddy. Think farming.”

 

Chewie nodded and went back to piloting. 

* * *

Rey looked at herself sideways in the mirror in their bunk, examining her profile, wondering how she will change in the coming months, wondering if she already has. 

 

“You’ve always had that little swell there,” Ben responded to her thoughts as he entered the room. “At least since I started feeding you properly.” He flashed her a smile as he shucked off his grease stained shirt. “No, you’re not showing yet in the least.”

 

Rey rolled her eyes and turned back to look at herself, though she was now distracted by Ben’s reflection in the mirror. 

 

“Not now Sweetheart. We’re about to break atmosphere of Takodana.”

 

Rey gasped. “What are we doing there?”

 

“Refueling. Chewie also said you might want to say hello to Maz?”

 

Rey nodded excitedly and went to find clothes. “I didn’t know you knew her?”

 

“Yeah, uh, my dad stopped here a couple times on smuggling runs when I was with him. Maz told me she liked my eyes. Something about seeing them somewhere before.

 

Rey smiled, remembering her same words. “That’s where we first met. I did not appreciate you freezing me.”

 

Ben chuckled. “You tried to shoot me!”

 

Rey rolled her eyes again. 

* * *

The cantina had been generally rebuilt. The rubble had been cleared away off to one side, but it was already overgrown with vegetation. 

 

The trio left R2 on the ship and headed inside. 

 

“It’s good to see you again,” Maz greeted right inside the doors. She spoke quietly this time, reaching out and taking Chewbacca’s hand. “There’s someone waiting for you.”

 

Ben and Rey looked at each other. They felt no disturbance in the Force, no feeling of dread. They gave little imperceptible nods to each other and followed Maz down into the basement to a room at the very end of the hallway. She opened the door for them, and when they peered inside, Leia Organa stood from her seat. 

 

Chewbacca was first inside to give her a hug, howling greetings. 

 

“Well come in,” Leia said with a teary smile. “I’m glad to see you made it out safe, Rey.”

 

Rey rushed in and joined the embrace Chewie still held her in. 

 

“I hear that you’re a couple of lovebirds now,” she said, goading them for an answer. 

 

Ben took slow steps inside, terrified of what his mother was going to say to him. 

 

Rey nodded to Leia then looked back at Ben. “Well...”

 

“You saw the holo?” Ben asked. 

 

Leia smiled and gave a single nod. “It was beautiful. You were the happiest I’ve ever seen.”

 

Ben smiled then. “I’ve never been happier.”

 

“Do you want to tell her or should I?” Rey asked Ben. 

 

“You,” Ben nodded back to her. 

 

Rey beamed. “We’re going to have a baby.”

 

Leia’s smile could not be contained, and her joy overflowed to her eyes as she hugged Rey tightly. She looked over at Ben who stood just inside the door. “Get over here so I can hug you, too,” She ordered. 

 

Ben closed the space, and Leia wrapped her arm around his shoulders, bringing his and Rey’s heads together. Ben let his shoulders relax and wrapped an arm around his little mother and around his little wife. 

 

“I never did expect that news to take too long after I saw that holo,” Maz said with a smirk. She left the room, leaving the door ajar. 

 

“Tell me everything,” Leia asked, taking her seat again. 

 

And they did. They spoke for hours about their adventures, of Snoke, them defeating him, of their quiet life on Nara 7, of their time on Naboo, of Ben’s loss of the Force, of his regaining the force, of their wedding, of them finding Chewbacca. Maz came in and out with food enough to feed a small army. Between a pregnant Rey, Ben Solo, and Chewbacca, it was a welcome sight. 

 

“Now, we’re just looking for somewhere to settle down on,” Rey told Leia, taking Ben’s hand again. 

 

Leia smiled. “Where are you thinking?”

 

They shook their heads. “Nowhere has felt right yet.” Rey shrugged. 

 

Leia nodded. “You’ll know when you find it. What are your plans now?”

 

They looked at each other. Ben’s eyes softened. “Taking care of Rey.” He looked back at his mother. “We’ll figure it out. But we’re headed to Coruscant. Lie low.”

 

Maz entered the room then. “Leia, a handsome young man is looking for you.” 

 

Leia sighed. “I’ll be there in a moment.” She stood and went to hug her son again. “I’m proud of you, Ben. I’m so proud.”

 

Ben reciprocated, realizing how long it had been since he had actually let himself admit that he cared for her. “I love you, Mom,” he said softly. 

 

She gave him a squeeze. “I know.”

 


	24. Never Alone

Rey and Ben and Chewie waited for the sound of Leia’s footsteps to disappear up the steps before making their own way up. The main area was still teeming with people, but they were able to see Leia disappear just out the door with Poe Dameron following behind her, holding the door open. 

 

“Chewie, go on ahead,” Ben told the wookie. “I think we’ll go out a side door.”

 

Rey nodded and followed Ben outside and around the edge of the castle, staying close to the wall. They peeked around the edge of the corner, and the sound of blasterfire shook Rey. She looked up at the glowing plasma headed their way, now frozen in the air. 

 

“Are we going to do this every time we meet, Dameron?” Ben sighed, tugging Rey out of the way of the blasterfire and strode to greet the Resistance fighter. 

 

“Stand down, both of you,” General Organa shouted. 

 

Poe Dameron stood from where he took his shot, one hand in the air, the other holstering  his blaster. 

 

“We just want to get to our ship,” Ben said evenly. He let the blast go, striking a tree behind them. 

 

“You shouldn’t be going anywhere,” Poe barked back. 

 

“We are not taking them into custody,” Leia stated. 

 

“He’s a wanted war criminal!” Poe insisted. 

 

“We don’t have the resources to hold him against his will.”

 

“You’re just going to let him go?”

 

“Unless you want to tackle him yourself and keep him in your bunk,” Leia offered. “And I doubt you’ll be as lucky to get Rey, too.”

 

Ben tugged on Rey’s sleeve, already strolling to the Millennium Falcon. She followed. 

 

“Pick your battles, Poe. This is not one of them. And you’re the one who accused Rey of being a traitor,” Leia continued. “I would say this might be your fault for instigating all this. You cost us a valuable ally in Rey, and she was the only option in turning Ben to our side. You can’t keep calling wolf when they’re not hurting anyone.” She smiled at the figures now disappearing into the forest. “It looks like they’re gone now anyways. Poe, come do your job and pilot me back to the fleet.”

* * *

Rey plopped into the copilot seat in the cockpit, already starting up the engines. 

 

“Kriffing Poe and his kriffing shortsighted heroism!” She growled, banging a panel with her foot. 

 

“Hey hey, careful Sweetheart, she’s an antique,” Ben cooed, taking his place in the pilots seat. 

 

“Next time he shoots at me, I’m shooting back,” she said, pointing at Ben. 

 

Ben chuckled. “I’d like to see that.”

 

“If he hadn’t called me a traitor, I’d still be with the Resistance!” She complained, starting take off sequences. “I wouldn’t be running and lying low. I’d still be with my friends.”

 

Ben reached out a hand, setting it on her wrist. “But would you be with me?” His large brown eyes looked so lost and hurt. 

 

Rey felt a pang of sadness hit her chest, realizing how hurtful her words had been. She looked down at his hand on hers, and she glanced to her wedding ring. She shook her head. “I wouldn’t. I would not have any of what we have now.”

 

He ran a thumb over the back of her hand then pulled back. “Rey, why don’t you go do some training? I can get us off world. I’ll be alright.”

 

Rey climbed out of the seat and paused at the doorway. “I’m sorry that I said that. You mean the universe to me, and I was too angry about what I lost to think back about how much more I gained because of that. I wouldn’t change things because that would have prevented us from really falling in love with each other. I’m sorry, Ben.”

 

“I love you, Rey. Go blow off some steam.”

 

She nodded, and left the cockpit. She couldn’t complain. She had told him to do the very same thing before. 

* * *

It took much longer than Ben would have liked to reach Coruscant, but they were avoiding hyper lanes and populated space. They were safer that way. He could say he was enjoying his little pregnant wife. She was trying to learn as much as she could, now realizing she knew very little at all about pregnancy. She was studying her holopad as he approached Coruscant airspace. 

 

“I’m probably farther along than I thought,” she mused to Ben. “My cycles have never been regular and so I didn’t notice right away.”

 

Ben smiled at her. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

 

“How are we going to live on Coruscant?” She asked. “I don’t have republic credits or records at all.”

 

“It hasn’t been the Republic for years now, but they still call them credits.” He turned on landing gear. “I have credits. They’ve accumulated. I’ll be fine here. We’re staying below the radar. It’s impossible to check everyone on the planet. Look.”

 

Rey leaned forward, taking in the scene of neon and durasteel and holos. “It’s beautiful. Cold, but beautiful.”

 

Ben nodded, directing them to a launchpad. 

* * *

They now claimed a little apartment in a nondescript area, sketchy enough to be overlooked, secure enough to prevent serious harm. And they found time to live. They explored the city, Ben always keeping a hand on Rey. Ben showed her the rubble of what once was the Jedi temple. He showed her government buildings and his favorite places. He had seen Coruscant before when his mother served as senator. Too much of the worst he sometimes felt, but he had also been young and impatient. 

 

They found their pacing and their niche. Though Rey and Ben both found themselves getting antsy. 

 

“There’s too many sentients,” Rey lamented one night coming home. She was already stripping to head to the ‘fresher. “I don’t know how they breathe! How they live like this!”

 

Ben let out a sigh of relief. “It’s horror on the senses. Everyone is feeling everything and you can’t pinpoint it.” He plopped down on their bed, waiting for her. “We’ll find somewhere new soon.”

 

Rey stepped out, wrapping a towel around herself before going to join Ben on the Bed, setting her head on his stomach. 

 

“Come, let me brush your hair,” Ben offered. Rey scooted off the bed and leaned against it as he ran a brush through it and started into a simple braid for her to sleep in. 

 

“What are we doing tomorrow?” She asked. 

 

“The med who doesn’t care about records finally got to us on their list,” he told her. “Just a checkup to make sure everything is fine.”

 

Rey felt her shoulders relax. There were few people on Jakku, fewer who could bear children, even fewer who did, and so very few who survived. She had worried herself sick one night about whether she would actually survive the process. Ben had then insisted on seeing a medical professional to quiet her fears. 

* * *

The clinic was in a quiet hidden corner and was immaculately clean inside. The receptionist was a species Rey had never seen before, but she waved them in and pointed to the door beside her. 

 

The actual doctor was a young looking woman with a nervous twitch in her shoulders. She beckoned them in. She told them her name and her basic credentials and told them all the procedures, in broken yet clear common, and everything was simple enough. Rey did need to get blood drawn, and Ben held her tightly when they came to that. She did not realize how much she would dislike that. 

 

“An ultrasound now,” the young doctor instructed. 

 

The process was simple, cold gel, a little scanner, and a view on a screen. As the doctor explained what each little thing was and what it meant, she stopped, frowning and asked Ben to hold the scanner in place. She took up a holopad and started inputting information in and grabbing data from the scanner. 

 

She smiled so brightly after the holopad confirmed what she saw. “Much joy for you,” she said softly. She pointed to a little place of movement. “One.” She moved her finger to a second point. “Two.” She set her hand on Ben’s and moved it slightly so the two little points could still be seen and another flutter appeared where it has been mostly hidden behind the others. She pointed. “Three.”

 

The young doctor suddenly pressed a cup of water into Ben’s hands. “Drink, drink. No fainting. Too pale.” The doctor pushed his shoulder so he leaned back in his chair.

 

He shakily raised the cup to his lips, staring at the now static view on the screen where three little heartbeats had just been.

 

“Three? Three babies?” Rey whispered hoarsely.

 

“Yes yes.” The young doctor patted Ben’s knee and put the scanner back to Rey’s stomach. She searched for a moment before finding the little lives. She pointed to each again. 

 

“Ben, they’ll never be alone.” She wiped tears from her eyes with the heel of her hand. 

 


	25. Ben’s Birthday

 

“I’m so huge!” Rey whined, staring at herself in the mirror, both hands reaching out to embrace her belly. She had lived her entire life as small and lithe, and now within a few months, she was much larger than she had ever expected. 

 

“That’s good, isn’t it?” Ben asked. He was braiding his own hair back out of his face. “That means they’re all healthy.”

 

Rey rolled her eyes. “They’re also awake.”

 

Ben was immediately up and running a hand over her stomach. He smiled at the movement there, and he bent over to press a kiss to the top of her rounding stomach. “They’re so strong already,” he sighed. He straightened up and pressed a kiss to Rey’s forehead. “Alright, get dressed Sweetheart.”

 

Rey nodded, raising her arms. He laughed at her. He took her dress from the hanger on their closet door, and formed it into a circle so he could slip it over her head. He made sure each arm got in its proper sleeve, and when he checked that, he took the fabric that had caught on her belly and lovingly draped it over their family. She smiled and turned so he could do the fastenings. She pulled her hair aside for him. 

 

“Your hair is getting so long,” he admired. 

 

“I like it,” she nodded. “It’s nice being able to leave it down.”

 

“I miss the flower crowns.”

 

She turned back and hugged him. “We’ll go back and visit. But today is about you, my charming prince. You made me a princess for my birthday. You’re a prince for yours.”

 

Ben’s ears and cheeks turned red. 

 

She suddenly became excited. “I have a gift for you.” She ducked under his arm and got to her knees to dig under the bed. She pulled a simple box out from the hiding place and sat on the bed, beckoning him to come sit beside her. He obeyed and she put the box in his lap. He curiously pulled the simplisticly patterned paper off the box, and he fiddled with the latch to open it. It was a calligraphy set, an elegant durasteel pen, several nibs, a small collection of various ink colors in matching containers. 

 

“Oh Rey,” he sighed, taking the pen from the foam container, “it’s beautiful.”

 

She opened her bedside drawer, and pulled another wrapped gift. “I keep forgetting you need something to write on,” she explained. 

 

He opened the package to reveal a small bound book with real paper. 

 

“Precious,” He said, fumbling for words. “It’s such a good gift,” he settled simply. 

 

Rey kissed his cheek. “I did good,” she grinned. 

 

“You did very good,” he echoed. He grinned. “I’ll show you how it works when we get home. I believe we have a date.”

* * *

 

Their night was simple, dinner and dancing, but when Ben noticed someone snapping holos, he discreetly raised his hand and knocked the camera out of the sentient’s hands with the Force. 

 

“What did you just do?”Rey whispered. 

 

“People are taking pictures,” Ben returned. 

 

“Then let’s give them something to take pictures of.” She tugged on his collar to bring him close to kiss her. 

 

He smiled against her lips. “How about...” He took that moment in the music to spin her out away from him, letting her skirt float and embrace her growing belly, and he caught her hand and curled her back to himself. He glanced at the paparazzi who was again snapping holos of them. “I’m sure that will make the gossips,” he murmured, leaning to press a kiss to her jaw. 

 

Rey smiled and hugged him closer. “You’re enjoying this,” she laughed. 

 

“Of course I am. I’m here with the most beautiful woman in the galaxy, who’s carrying our children.”

 

Rey hummed happily. “And you get to show me off.”

 

“Now That is the icing on the cake.”

 

“Happy Birthday, Love,” Rey whispered, standing on tiptoe to kiss him. 

* * *

 

The pictures were in fact all over the holonet within hours, and the next morning, the couple was rudely awakened to a banging on their front door. 

 

Ben put a shirt on, insisting Rey stay in bed. She was stretching, trying to wake herself up, but she was too asleep. 

 

Ben smiled and went to chew out whoever was banging on their door so early. He pushed the button and the door slid to the side and the people on the other side fell to their knees. 

 

The masked man in front spoke. “Lord Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren, we are at your service.”

 

 The Knights of Ren had found their master. 


	26. The Knights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of you have read my fic Broken Hearts and Healing Hands, you’ll recognize my Knights. They’re a bit different in characterization, but it’s a different universe. I highly recommend Broken Hearts and Healing Hands. I was rereading it and I remembered how much fun I had writing it.

 

“What the Kriff are you doing here?” Ben swore at the Knights of Ren who were now kneeling on the front porch of their apartment complex.  

 

The frontmost spoke. “We are still loyal to you, Kylo Ren. With the downfall of the First Order, you are the only one who—.”

 

Ben pushed the button to close the door. It shut with a smooth *whoosh.* He turned and rubbed his forehead. He went back to his bedroom. Rey had cuddled back under the blanket, snoring softly. He smiled. This was his life now, and he was very happy with it. He unfortunately had to wake them. The Knights had resumed their banging on their front door. 

 

He sighed and shook Rey’s shoulder. “Get dressed, Sweetheart,” he spoke softly. 

 

“No,” she returned not awake. 

 

“No, you’ve got to get dressed. I need you up and ready to run.”

 

Rey sat up suddenly. She stared wide eyed at Ben. “Who’s at the door?”

 

“The Knights of Ren.”

 

Her face showed a dozen different confused and afraid emotions. She was promptly pulling on clothing. 

 

Ben shut the door behind him, going back to the common area. He took his saber from the hiding place and attached it to his belt. He debated his options, studying the door. 

 

“We’re not here to hurt you!”

 

Ben opened the door again. “Then why are you here?”

 

“We’re here to request your return to the Knights.” 

 

“Why do you think I would?”

 

They removed their helmet, revealing a head of tightly braided hair and dark freckled skin. “You asked us to leave all we knew,” the woman stated, her voice even and strong without the vocalizer. “We followed you from Skywalker’s temple. We trusted you. We still do.”

 

The three knights behind her removed their helmets, revealing two young humans and a twilek. 

 

Ben scanned the faces. “There’s only four of you.”

 

The frontmost woman nodded. “The others are either dead or following Belak. Belak Ren is seeking to seize control of the First Order. He has others who went with him now seeking out Force sensitive younglings.”

 

Ben frowned. “What are you doing here, Ahtu Ren?”

 

“We know you are married. We know your wife is your equal. We know she is expecting. Belak also knows.”

 

“Belak is now seeking out new knights,” the young woman to Ahtu’s left spoke. “He is seeking out an army. Not for the sake of the Force, but for his own purposes.”

 

“We came to ask you to return to us, to fight Belak.” The twilek lowered her head to Ben. “He is not seeking a rise of Force users. He is seeking tools.”

 

“If you do not want to return to us,” Ahtu cut in, “we understand. But we know your trials and your history. We know you cannot fight Belak on your own. We are here to ensure that he does not get to you, your powerful wife, or your child.”

 

Ben was silent as he probed their intentions through the Force. 

 

The young woman twitched. “Don’t do that, Kylo. It tickles.”

 

Ben smiled. “Come inside.” He went to his bedroom door and opened it. He held his hand out to Rey. “They’re not here to hurt us.”

 

Rey was immediately at his side. “Who are you?”

 

Ben nodded. “These are the Knights of Ren, or I suppose what is left of them?”

 

“We are not a part of the Knights anymore. The Knights belong to Belak Ren now in his conquest.” She nodded to Rey. “I am Ahtu Ren.” She then gestured to the rest. 

 

“I am Kit Ren,” the young woman chirped. Her wild blonde curls bounced with every movement of her head. 

 

“Peykah Ren,” The female twilek nodded. 

 

“Div Ren,” the young man ended finally.

 

“This is Rey Solo,” Ben introduced properly. “And I do not call myself Kylo Ren anymore.”

 

Div broke into a smile. “You’ve gone back to your padawan name! I told you Ben Solo sounded cool!”

 

He chuckled in return. “It just feels right.”

 

“What is the story of the Knights of Ren?” Rey asked. 

 

“We felt that the Jedi code was not one we could follow,” Ahtu explained gently. “One We should not follow. But we were being taught by Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master. It would have been disgraceful to leave that life. Until Kylo Ren—.”

 

“Ben,” he corrected. “Until I destroyed his temple.”

 

“Until Ben destroyed the temple. He found us in the chaos. We had already formed the Knights. Ben’s idea. Snoke allowed us to live because we were loyal to Kylo Ren. We were useful.” Ahtu looked at the others. “We were all off away on missions when we heard Snoke was killed. In the resulting chaos, each was contacted by General Hux. Then he was killed. The military leaders are squabbling over the pieces now. And when we, the Knights found each other, there was a division. Snoke had found and trained other force sensitives. Many of them followed Belak Ren, who is now working to take control of the First Order, or what is left of it.”

 

Kit interrupted Ahtu. “There was a battle between all of us. We killed some, but Belak is looking for Force sensitivite younglings to build an army to control the First Order and the Galaxy with.”

 

Rey’s hand flew to her stomach. 

 

“And that is why they are here.” Ben told her. “I will not lead you and your Knights,” he spoke to the Rens. “My priority is Rey and her safety. We are not looking to enter a war.”

 

“Then we will do what we can to protect you and your family,” Ahtu nodded. “If Belak reaches any of you, we have no chance. You are the strongest Force users I’ve ever seen.”


	27. Finding Solo

“How did you find us?” Ben asked as they were setting out plates of food. 

 

“It wasn’t difficult,” Peykah told them. “Analyzed the club, tracked the holovid poster, discovered some records for people with no history.” She took a bowl from Rey’s hands and set it on the table. 

 

Rey gave her a soft glare as she went about setting another platter out. Div took this one from her. “I can do this,” Rey sighed at the Knights. 

 

Ben chuckled. “Just sit down, Sweetheart.” He rubbed her back briefly. “Let them help.”

 

Rey pursed her lips so she wouldn’t scold them for helping, and she took her seat. 

 

“Do you know if Belak also figured out where we are?” Ben asked, his hands busy pouring powdered drink into a water pitcher. 

 

“It was Peykah who really figured out where you were. She didn’t tell him. He just knows that you’re on Coruscant.” Kit started handing out utensils. “That’s something else. We think you should leave. Coruscant is certainly not safe anymore.”

 

Ahtu nodded, setting a hand on Rey’s shoulder. “It’s only a matter of time before he does find you here.”

 

Ben looked over his shoulder. “Where do you have in mind?”

 

“Outer Rim, preferably,” Div said. “There’s a few low profile planets. There is Ferro, which has kept out of First Order hands. There is also Melida/Daan. Worst comes to worst, Dagobah is always an option.”

 

“Anywhere but Dagobah,” Ben said with a scrunched up nose. 

 

Ahtu smiled at him. “I wasn’t going to let you drown.”

 

“I couldnt get the plant life out of my boots for weeks.”

 

“Skywalker had taken us there once, to do some training, like he had with Master Yoda,” Ahtu explained to Rey. “Your Ben had wandered into a sinkhole in the mud.”

 

Ben felt his cheeks redden. “How long do we have?” He changed the subject. 

 

“A day, maybe two,” Peykah answered. “Twasnt difficult to find you.”

 

Ben nodded. “We can be out today. Excuse me. I’ll get Chewie.”

 

He went to the back room and found the comm. He closed the door, and he radioed Chewbacca, beginning the communication with Shyriiwook. He told him of the plan, and Chewbacca told him he’d be right there, commenting on how Ben’s Shyriiwook was getting rusty.

 

Ben laughed at him, but ended the transmission and returned to the meal. They had all started in by then, and he smiled at Rey who had a smudge on her cheek. 

* * *

Belak surveyed the apartment block that the trackers had narrowed the search down to. Some windows had lights on inside. Others were dark. There was a taste of quiet as the building alcove provided a barrier between the homes and the thundering city noise on the outside. 

 

“Massa Ren,” the boy behind him whispered to catch his attention. He started to rattle off in his own language. 

 

“Wessell,” Belak sighed, his vocalizer making his consonants crackle. “Common, you are to speak common.  You are no longer a stable boy on Canto Bight. You are my apprentice. Act as such.”

 

“Yes, Massa,” Wessell said slowly. “Are holo recorders ever where. Watch us. We caught?”

 

“We are more powerful than any authority here, little one,” another knight said, bringing up the rear. “Be courageous. Without it, you will surely fail.”

 

The little boy nodded. He fiddled with the ring he now wore around his neck on a chain. He remembered how the Resistance fighters had given him that little piece of hope. When the masked Knight had found him, he only knew they were Force users and more terrifying than his current master. They had taken him and fed him and given him new clothes. They had been working to train him, teach him of the Force. He was excited. Excited and terrified. He knew they were not Resistance. But they were not First Order. First Order was crumbling. He knew that from bits of news he heard. These were Knights and Knights were noble. He hoped. 

 

“I don’t feel them, Belak,” the other masked knight whispered. 

 

“They will be here.” He began his stride through the complex, studying the windows and doors he passed. He came to an apartment with a lit interior beyond the blinds. He could hear speaking on the other side. Belak lit his saber, the other knight followed suit, and the little boy drew his training blade, small and red. 

 

Belak moved the door open easily and stepped inside. The main room was empty except for a sink full of dishes, a ransacked set of shelves, and a holoreader playing the evening news. He strode smoothly through to the back room, a plain bedroom, again ransacked. Drawers were open, fabric everywhere, pillows thrown aside, closet cleared. 

 

“I still don’t feel anything, Belak,” the knight whispered. 

 

“Of course you don’t. But they were here,” he said, picking up a piece of paper with a single name practiced over and over in curling script, ‘Rey Solo.’

* * *

Rey and Ben and Kit Ren were aboard the Falcon with Chewie and R2, cutting through the atmosphere in the low evening light. 

 

“I missed the stars,” Rey sighed. 

 

Chewbacca whined at her agreeably. 

 

“I missed you, too.“

 

“Is there really three in there?” Kit asked, eyeing Rey’s stomach. 

 

Rey laughed. “Yes! Come feel! Their signatures are just starting to differ now.”

 

Kit scooter closer on the bench and held a gloved hand out. Rey shook her head and tugged the glove off. She guided Kit’s hand to where there was some movement. Kit’s eyes went wide. 

 

Rey laughed at her. “I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. But that’s one.” She guided the hand a little lower. “There’s the other.” Rey closed her eyes, seeking out each little spark of Force. “The other is sleeping. I don’t know how with the others so awake.”

 

Kit stared at her hand in wonder as it trembled with each little movement. 

 

In the cockpit, Ben and Chewie guided the Falcon into a hyperlane entrance. Ben commed the other ship that was accompanying them. “Everything alright?”

 

“Ready to make the jump,” Ahtu returned. 

 


	28. (Wookie) Family Trees

After much deliberation, they finally decided on a planet, and to Chewbacca’s glee, within the week, they were approaching Kashyyk. They landed near Chewbacca’s home, and there was a collection of Wookies waiting for them. The knight’s ship was right behind them. Chewbacca was out of the ship first, pulling several wookies into a hug. Ben was just behind with an arm around Rey. Kit Ren followed after, just in her dark robes, leaving her gloves and her mask in the Falcon. Chewbacca introduced the company, and the wookies took each of them into hugs. The Knights who came out of the other ship received their own hugs. 

 

One wookie stopped at Rey and started chattering off in Shyriiwook to her. The wookie set a paw on her large stomach, and Rey smiled. She held up three fingers. The wookie straightened up and clapped and roared. The wookie started chattering to Chewbacca. 

 

Ben leaned over to Rey. “That’s Malla, Chewie’s wife.”

 

Rey’s eyes lit up. “I didn’t know you had a family!” She chided her fuzzy copilot. 

 

Chewbacca nodded and pointed to another wookie and the others with them.

 

Ben lit up then and ran to him, giving him a hug. “Lumpawaroo!” He started chattering at the wookie in as pure Shyriiwook as he could pronounce. 

 

Kit laughed. “Lumpy’s Chewbacca’s son. They sort of grew up together.”

 

Rey smiled at them. 

 

Malla set a gentle paw on Rey’s shoulder and told her they had a place prepared for them. 

* * *

Rey lay awake, staring at the thatched ceiling of their new home. The wookies had been more than hospitable. Ben and Rey had their own little home. The Knights had settled on a rotation. One would stay in their front room. One would stay on the porch outside. Tonight that was Div very excited about the hammock. The other two had another small home in the trees not too far away. That one had enough beds for all the Knights but their mission was to protect Rey’s babies. They knew this was an important mission. Rey felt Peykah’s signature on the couch. She was also awake, but meditating. Div though was definitely asleep in the hammock. Ben was in a hazy state, on the verge of sleep. He felt Rey’s unease. He turned to his side and laid a hand on her stomach, laying his head in the crook of her shoulder. 

 

“They’re uneasy, too,” he whispered, decidedly waking himself up. A little foot kicked his hand. He couldn’t help but smile. “You’re uneasy.”

 

“I’m not sure. I think it’s the Force, something telling me something, but there’s no words, only a feeling of anxiety.”

 

Ben nodded, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “We should be safe here.” He sighed. “But I feel it too.”

* * *

The Resistance Base was quiet on the uninhabited moon. There was little plant life and even less animal. The Resistance fighters felt the calm before the storm, and wondered what would be next. 

 

It was Finn’s turn on watch, and he was happy that Rose insisted on keeping him company. They found themselves holding hands and staring up at the stars when a shooting star caught their attention. 

 

“That’s no shooting star,” Finn insisted, tugging Rose up to her feet with him. “That’s a ship entering atmosphere.”

 

Rose nodded. “We should send an alert.”

 

Finn was already pulling out his comm and radioing the information. 

 

“Scout it out, Finn,” Poe’s voice returned, filled with static. 

 

Rose looked at Finn. 

 

“Come with me. I know you can handle yourself.” 

 

Finn and Rose dashed back to the hangar and snagged a speeder to cover the distance. They saw a cloud of dust on the horizon as the ship collided with the ground. Finn leaned forward to pick up speed. 

 

“You’ve been practicing!” Rose yelled over the wind. 

 

“I can’t always find a pilot!” Finn yelled back. 

 

As they finally reached the crash site, they found two little children climbing out of the wreckage. Rose jumped from the speeder to them. 

 

“Are you alright?”

 

The children, a redheaded girl and a boy with the most brilliant smile, started chattering at her in an unfamiliar language. 

 

“We should bring them back to base,” Finn said. 

 

Rose nodded. “Come on,” she gestured to the speeder. 

 

The children nodded eagerly. 


	29. Union and Reunion

Rose and Finn and the two children found themselves in a meeting room with a long table and no windows and C3P0 and Poe Dameron and Leia Organa. The children had food given them, thankfully more interesting than ration bars, and between stuffing their faces, they introduced themselves as C3P0 translated. 

 

“I’m Arashell Sar,” the girl told them. “And this is Zaya.”

 

“Oniho Zaya,” the boy filled in with a full mouth. “We’re so happy to find you! We want to fight with the Resistance!”

 

“Our friend was taken by Knights in dark clothes with laser swords!”

 

“Not good people like Jedi Master Luke Skywalker! Bad people.”

 

“We want to save him!”

 

“They killed our slave boss. We ran away.”

 

“We took the ship and tried to find the Resistance! Third planet we’ve crashed on!”

 

Oniho covered his face. “Don’t tell them that! Embarrassing me!”

 

“We wouldn’t have crashed if you let me be pilot!”

 

Their chatter turned to squabbling, and Leia held her hand out to quiet them. 

 

“Thank you for coming. You are very brave.”

 

Oniho puffed up his chest proudly. 

 

“Your friend that was taken, was he able to use the Force?” Leia looked to C3P0 as he translated that to the children so there was no miscommunication. 

 

The children looked to each other. The girl nodded slowly. 

 

“He kept it hidden from your slave boss didn’t he?”

 

They nodded in unison. 

 

Leia nodded. “Do you know who took him? Did you hear names or did you see anything?”

 

“Laser swords. Red laser swords,” Oniho answered. 

 

“Temiri, our friend, asked them if they were First Order. They said no. Something about Knights or fighters?” Arashell said slowly. 

 

Leia nodded thoughtfully. “And why didn’t they also take you?”

 

Oniho slouched. “They threw me across room with Force. They said they didn’t want forceless yougling.”

 

“I hid.”

 

“Neither of you use the Force?”

 

The children shook their heads. 

 

Leia stood and went so she was between them. “You don’t need it to be as brave as you.” She took the little girl into a hug. The girl found tears in her eyes at the act of kindness. She set Arashell back in her seat and took Oniho into her arms. Oniho was rigid for a moment before taking a deep breath and suddenly relaxing and hugging her back. He didn’t want to let go when Leia put him back in his seat. “The Resistance is not a place for children,” she told them. “But I think I have a place for you where you will be safe.”

* * *

Temiri Blagg, now called Wessell Ren, sat on his plain bunk aboard his new master’s ship, fiddling with the Resistance ring he kept hidden. He wondered how much better he really had it. Belak Ren was very interested in him and how he was able to use the Force, but when he was not being trained or following along on a mission, he was alone in his room. He hadn’t minded at first. He didn’t have to do anything. He had a comfortable bed. He had a refresher. He had more food than he had ever had access to in his entire life. And there was only so much he could sleep and eat. 

 

It was at this point of boredom when he discovered that the bottles of soaps could be mixed with water and create large bubbles. The floor could no longer be seen in the refresher, and suds were flowing into his main room when the door slid open, and Belak Ren loomed in the doorway. 

 

Temiri started chanting apologies, but Belak gave him no heed. He simply reached out his hand, and the bubbles receded back into the fresher and down the drain. 

 

“It is time for training,” the knight said coldly, his voice rumbling low through the vocoder. 

 

Temiri sprinted after him to the open common area. 

 

There were a handful of other Knights aboard the ship. Most had their helmets on. Others were new like Temiri was, and they had no helmets yet. These were already in training, slashing at each other with harmless training sabers. He was assigned a sparring partner, this time a younger child who came to his shoulders with large black domes for eyes. He took his training saber and took up position. 

 

“Belak Ren,” one of the masked Knights said softly. “We have a lead.”

 

Temiri focused on the Force, trusting it to lead him in his motions, but his ears were trained on the words behind him. 

 

“A Resistance ship, a single ship, reported entering hyperlanes to Kashyyk.”

 

“When was the last time the wookie was seen?” Belak rasped. 

 

“Coruscant, when we tried to find the traitor.”

 

Temiri was shoved to his feet when the youngling caught him off guard. “I win,” he growled as much as a young child could. 

 

“I surrender.”

 

Temiri was suddenly plastered to the floor and then dragged to Belak’s feet. 

 

“We never surrender, boy,” he snarled. “Death or victory.”

* * *

”What do you mean my mother is coming here?” Ben asked, staring at Chewbacca. 

 

Chewbacca explained the situation again. 

 

“And bringing people for us to keep safe? Who does she think we are?”

 

Chewbacca clarified again, this time making hand movements like he was ruffling a small person’s head. 

 

“Children?”

 

Chewbacca nodded. 

 

Ben raised his eyebrows. “My Mother is bringing us children to keep safe?”

 

Chewie reached out and ruffled Ben’s hair. 

 

“We’re about to have three of our own, Chewie. Why would she think we would be able to handle more?”

 

Chewbacca laughed and pointed to himself. 

 

“Oh yeah, I’m sure they’ll be wonderful wookies.”

 

“What’s that, Ben?” Rey asked, waddling into the room. She had grown even more over the month or so they had spent on Kashyyk. She had insisted on staying as active as she could, knowing that before long she’d be retired to bed rest, and she didn’t know if she would be able to keep hersanity with that.

 

Ben waved Chewbacca’s paw away. “Chewie, you tell her.”

 

Chewbacca explained again that the Resistance had a couple of little children who had run away from bad circumstances, hoping to join the fight. As the Resistance is not a place for children, she had asked Chewbacca if he, Ben, and Rey would be willing to keep an eye on them. 

 

Rey ran a hand over her stomach. “Did she really?” 

 

“Sit down, Sweetheart,” Ben asked. 

 

“I’m not ready to sit down yet,” she sighed. “Only if you and your family help us,” she asked Chewbacca. 

 

The wookie nodded, laughing at them, and adding on. 

 

“We will need help with our three also, Chewie,” Ben reminded. 

 

Chewbacca started into a story about his extended family and having no worries about the care of Ben’s litter and now a few extras. Chewbacca sounded very excited to have little ones running about. 

 

Rey rolled her eyes and waddled back inside. 

* * *

Leia was happy to have the children around for a little while. She was more excited to see her son and Rey. Finn and Rose had enjoyed the children, too. Rose was picking up their words and teaching them common. Finn was teaching Oniho how to handle a blaster, though they kept it under the table when Leia or Rose was in sight. Their journey felt much too long though for Leia’s nerves. 

 

She had visited Kashyyk before. But she had forgotten how large the trees were. The landing pad had Chewbacca and Malla and her Ben and handful of others she didn’t quite recognize. She led the way down the ramp, and Chewbacca was first to hug her, followed by Ben. Malla was right behind him. As soon as there wasn’t wookie in Leia’s face, Ben’s face turned serious. 

 

“You’re just dropping children off for us to take care of?” He asked softly, already catching sight of them coming down the ramp. 

 

“They have nowhere else to go, Ben,” Leia told him. “You are the safest place right now. You and Rey. Where is she?”

 

“In our home. She insisted I not let you leave before you came and said hello to her.”

 

Leia nodded. “I wouldn’t dare. Now Ben, these are Arashell and Oniho. They were slaves up until recently. They escaped and came to us for help. They are strong and brave and intelligent. They just need somewhere safe.”

 

The girl stepped forward and gave a slight bow. He could tell his mother had gotten to her hair. It was braided tightly against her scalp in an intricate crown. The bow gave a grin and a salute. 

 

Ben blinked at them. 

 

“Tall!” The boy marveled. 

 

“He is, isn’t he?” Rose agreed behind him. Finn appeared behind her, a stony face studying Ben. 

 

“I’m only agreeing to the children,” Ben said. “I’m not agreeing to keep an eye on...” Ben folded his arms over his chest. 

 

Finn shook his head. “We’re here to see Rey. She wouldn’t have gotten out without our help. And to make sure the kids have a safe home.”

 

Ben nodded. “Follow me then.”

* * *

”You didn’t tell us she was pregnant!” Finn nearly shouted when they entered their home to find Rey sitting on a couch, fiddling with a wooden puzzle until company appeared. 

 

“Finn! I didn’t know you were coming too!” Rey struggled to her feet, though Finn was already over, pulling her up and into a hug. 

 

“You didn’t tell them Rey was pregnant?” Ben asked his mother softly as Rose ran to join the embrace. 

 

Leia shook her head. “That is on a need to know basis, and very very few people need to know.”

 

“Generally,” Oniho tugged on Leia’s sleeve. “Knight?” He pointed to Div who was peering at them from the hammock. 

 

“Ben, who...wait...” Leia took a few steps toward him. He turned himself easily out of the hammock. “Tek? Tek Dregg?”

 

“Div...now,” he replied simply. 

 

“You...were dead...”

 

“Not all of us,” Kit greeted behind her. 

 

“Ben...”Leia looked to her son with awe and wonder and confusion. “We thought...all of them were dead...all of Luke’s students...”

 

Ben shook his head. “Some followed me...”

 

“How many? How many did...”

 

Kit put a hand on Leia’s shoulder. “Let the past die,” she whispered. “Not all of us survived. Not all of us left. Not all of us came back to Ben.”

 

Leia took Kit’s hand in her own. “I mourned you. I mourned you all.”

 

Kit’s eyes went a little bigger and she threw her arms around Leia. She squeezed her tightly and then at a thought, she let go. “Let me get Peykah and Ahtu.” She ran and sprung herself over the edge to the porch below to get the others. 

 

“Who? Ben what is this?”

 

Ben explained how they had come to them and were now still loyal to Ben, though they were still entrenched in their Knight mentality. 

 

Ahtu was timid. The last time she had seen Leia was on the battlefield, and before that, she had been very young in Luke Skywalker’s care with a different name. She tried to hind behind her cold trained exterior, but as soon as Leia reached out to her, Ahtu was back to young Shendra who was away from her family for the first time, and Ben’s mother had brought gifts for all of Luke’s students for Life Day, and this little girl all covered in freckles over her dark skin could only remember how important this princess had made her feel. She was in Leia’s arms. 

 

Ben watched the reunions with awe. How much of an effect had his mother had on everyone she met? What did his mother mean to so many people? Would any of them have been able to destroy her as Snoke had wanted? Ben knew that he could not. 

 

“Your Rey pretty,” the girl spoke in broken common, peering up at Ben, pulling him from his thoughts. 

 

“Yes she is,” Ben returned. “Come meet her.” He offered his hand to Arashell. She took it excitedly. He looked around. “And where is your friend?”

 

The girl pointed to the hammock where Div was now pushing Oniho. Oniho gave a shriek if joy as Div made the hammock spin all the way around. 

 

Ben smiled. “Come meet Rey, and we’ll have Oniho meet her and have Div spin you in the Hammock.”

 

Arashell smiled and nodded. Ben walked over to Rey and Finn and Rose who were talking about everything that had happened on both sides. 

 

“Rey,” Ben interrupted. He nudged the little girl in front of him and set his hands on her shoulders making her look so small. “This is Arashell.”

 

Rey beamed at her, and she put herself back on the couch and held her hand out to the redhead. “Nice to meet you Arashell. I’m Rey.”

 

Arashell put her hand out and gave Rey’s hand a shake. 

 

“Arashell told me she thought you were pretty,” Ben said softly. 

 

Arashell nodded and opened her mouth and formed words slowly. “Thank you for taking care of me and Oniho. Never had family before.”

 

Ben’s eyes widened, and Rey was pulling her into a tight hug. “We’re your family now, Arashell.”


	30. Traitor

That evening, they settled into an easy calm, eating and catching up and finding that they were a family finally connected. 

 

Leia sat beside Ben, watching Div, Kit, Arashell, Oniho, Rose, and Lumpawaroo play a board game. “I’d like to stay until the babies are born,” she mused. “I’m sure you’ll need help.”

 

Ben nodded. “We will. I think that would nice.” He glanced over at Rey, Finn, Malla, Ahtu, Peykah, and Chewbacca playing Sabacc. “And Finn and Rose?”

 

“They would like to stay, I think. They care about Rey. They were the ones who got her out when she was deemed a traitor. It would be better if they returned when I did.”

 

Ben nodded, then crooked his head. “Traitor...” His own words came to him from what seemed a lifetime ago, “committing high-treason." He was suddenly standing and marching to the sabacc game. “Finn,” he barked, pointing at him. 

 

Finn was immediately stumbling up to his feet, jaw set, ready to throw punches if it came down to it. 

 

“Ben!” Rey barked back. She scooted back, getting to her feet. 

 

At that, Ben forced his shoulders to relax. “No, I’m not angry,” he comforted his wife, but then turned his attention back to Finn. “I have an idea.”

* * *

The Sabacc game was ended, and they left the children and the youngest knights playing in the cool evening air. Inside Chewbacca’s treehouse home, Ben stood in the middle of the living room, formulating a plan.

 

“The trooper program,” he pointed to Peykah. “How operational was it when you left?”

 

Peykah Ren shook her head. “Still operational. There has always been protocol in place for when high officers and captains die. The captains over the individual regiments are still leading their troopers. Yes, they’re being fought over by the mess of generals and other officials, but they are still loyal to their captains, regiments, and training.”

 

Ben pointed to Finn. “Wrong.”

 

Finn straightened his back, terrified of the man, feeling the muscles beneath his scarred back tense. 

 

“Finn proves this wrong. He defected. He was trained from infancy to follow orders. And he ran. He betrayed his community and his brothers and his beliefs.” At this point, Ben Solo gave a most brilliant smile. “He is the key to this war.”

 

“Cut the dramatics, Solo,” Ahtu Ren sighed. “Get to the point.”

 

Ben shot her a glare but continued. “I can guarantee that Belak Ren will not throw the trooper program away. There is power in sheer numbers. Others may be squabbling over it, but Belak will keep it under his control. But, we can take it, or at least dismantle it.” He pointed at Finn again. "Through Finn. He is proof that this program does not work. He is proof that others can be turned. He is proof that we can make this rot from the inside. Everything will collapse in on itself like a dying star."

 

Leia nodded thoughtfully. “What are you suggesting?”

 

“An infiltration. Finn, you and Rose were exceptionally successful at getting onto the flagship. I read the reports. It was astounding. I believe that with my help, you will be able to get back in, take up a leadership position, and start…reeducating troopers.” Ben looked to his mother. “Do you know of any other First Order defectors who would be able to help?”

 

Rey reached out to tug on Ben’s sleeve. “Mitaka?”

 

Ben lit up. “Of course!”

 

“Hold up,” Finn choked out. “You want me to go back into that snake pit?”

 

Ben gave a cocky smile that reminded Leia so much of his father. “Only because I know you would get back out.”

 

“How long would this be?” Leia asked. “This is not an in and out mission.”

 

Ben shook his head. “This is not simple or straight forward. But I know Phasma had great faith in you, Finn.” Ben took a seat on the ottoman. “She wanted you in her division. She knew you were intelligent and strong. She had no idea what you held in store for her. I felt your choice in the village. You were a traitor. But it was because you were firm in your decisions, morals, and relationships. That trooper who died before you, who marked your mask, he spurred you to make this difficult choice. It enabled you to break from rank. You can be that catalyst for others.”

 

Finn studied Ben’s scarred face.

 

“What was your catalyst?” Finn asked with a jutt of his chin. 

 

Ben’s lips curled. “Rey.”

 

Finn held his gaze.  “You are sending me back into hell.”

 

“To save those who are stuck where you escaped from. To give peace an advantage. To hurry an end to this war.” He leaned forward, setting his elbows on his knees. “You will not be going in alone. We will get Lieutenant Mitaka to help you on the inside. I cannot.”

 

“Kriffin, no of course you can’t!” Finn spat, getting to his feet. “You’ve run from this fight! You were Supreme Leader! You had access to all of this! You could have ended this war!”

 

“It is not that simple!” Ben stood, towering over Finn. “I am not the First Order!”

 

“Only the emperor over it all!” Finn swore under his breath and took long strides to leave the room. 

 

“Finn,” Rey said softly. “This isn’t our fight. We can’t fight. We have no side. I am not Resistance. He is not First Order. I am not the light. He is not the dark. No matter where we go, everyone wants us dead or on their side. Or they want...” Rey noticed that her hand had been absent mindedly moving over her stomach where the little lives were moving beneath her fingers. Rey noticed the tears that were threatening to flow. She swallowed and continued. “Or they want our babies.”

 

Ahtu nodded. “Belak Ren is strategic. He will keep his advantages close. But he will not reveal his hand. He will not play fair.”

 

“What does Belak Ren want?” Leia asked. 

 

“We’re not entirely sure,” Peykah sighed. “He’s been seeking control of the First Order and seeking force sensitive younglings. We believe that he is building an army of some sort to establish Force users as a grand power.”

 

“Then why take out the troopers?” Finn asked, turning his head to speak over his shoulder. 

 

“Not take out,” Ahtu corrected. “Turn. You will now fight against the First Order because you know what they do and that there is more in the Galaxy than what they would have you believe. They may not all join the Resistance. They may not all want to continue to fight. But enough will. It is not just lowering numbers, but raising those against them.”

 

Finn sighed and turned to face them. He put his thumbs in his pants pockets. “I’m willing, only as long as there’s an out.”

 

Ben nodded. “We can arrange that.”

* * *

Rey sat on the edge of their bed that night, running a hand over her stomach. She had found that she was crying more over very small things, but now she felt like this was a very big thing, and she wanted to cry it out, but the tears never came. 

 

“He doesn’t want to die, Ben,” Rey whispered to her husband who was sitting behind her, running a brush through her hair. “Finn doesn’t want to go back to that.”

 

Ben gave no response. He already knew that. His thoughts were elsewhere. 

 

“What if I went? What if I did go back?”

 

Rey stiffened and turned. “Go back, to the First Order?”

 

“Took back position of Supreme Leader. Ended this from the top down.”

 

Rey’s tears finally broke through. She shook her head vigorously and crawled up onto the bed properly and threw her arms around Ben’s neck holding him tight. “Don’t leave me, Ben. It doesn’t matter.” She started to sob and clung to her husband. “I can’t go that way.” 

 

Ben cradled her close, feeling his heart break for her tears. He rocked her softly. They had tried so hard to leave everything behind. The Galaxy still had ways to barge in. 

 

“The Galaxy doesn’t need us. I need you.”

 

Ben buried his face in her hair and held her tighter. 

 

“Don’t do anything so dumb, please,” Rey whispered through her tears. “You have me. We’re having babies. We have children to watch over,” she said. She tried to take a breath but it stuttered over her sobs, making her chest shake. “Please don’t play the hero. Just be there for me.”

 

“You’re my Galaxy. All of it.” Ben murmured into her shoulder. 

* * *

Rey was quick to fall asleep, but Ben’s mind was still racing. He silently left the bed and their room. Div was asleep on the couch, but  Ahtu was meditating on the porch. 

 

“You should speak with Finn,” she told him. She opened her eyes and nodded to the stairs that led up to the next deck. 

 

He nodded and took the stairs. Finn leaned against the railing, looking up at the stars through the trees. 

 

“I never had a chance to apologize for your back,” Ben said. 

 

Finn snorted. “You could have killed me.”

 

“I’m glad I didn’t.”

 

“I’m going to do this, but not because you’re telling me to,” Finn told him. “I’m going to do this because it’s the right thing to do.”

 

“I believe that.”

 

“You really love her, don’t you?”

 

“More than anything.” Ben came even with him and set a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “Thank you for helping her out of detainment.”

 

Finn nodded. “She’s my friend.” He moved his shoulders so Ben’s hand fell from its perch. He looked up at him. “And you have made her happy. If you hurt her—“

 

Ben flashed a smile. “Do you think I would hurt her? She’s my wife.”

 

Finn laughed and looked down. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to you smiling. You’re terrifying.”

 

“It’s the scar isn’t it?”

 

“No, it’s not the scar. It’s that you chased me down on Starkiller and sliced my back.”

 

Ben smiled again. “You handled the saber fairly well for not ...being...force sensitive.” He frowned and looked over at Finn. “You’re not, are you?”

 

Finn genuinely laughed. “Believe me, I’ve tried. Nothing.”

 

Ben nodded. The night sounds of bugs and nocturnal creature filled the silence as the moon traveled between the leaves. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry updates are getting sporadic. I just got a promotion at work and now I’m dual wielding my old duties with my new ones and I’m a bit preoccupied with that. 
> 
> Check out my tumblr pulltothelight.tumblr.com
> 
> May the Force be with you. Woot woot 30 chapters!


	31. Longer

Kit suddenly sat up from her cot and looked around the dim room. It was late; she could sense all the sleeping life around her. She carefully stepped from her bed and went to the open doorway. It was a warm enough night, and she watched the leaves sway in the nighttime breeze. She tried to remember what her dream was, but it was already gone. She shook her head and padded over to the stairs to go check on Ahtu. She was on duty that night, and Kit could feel her dormant signature. She was meditating deeply. She greeted her through the Force, took a seat beside her, and began her own meditation, happy enough to be close to her friend. 

 

“Bad dreams?” Ahtu whispered, stirring from her meditation. 

 

“Unrestful,”Kit decided. 

 

“I have had nothing but bad dreams since General Leia has come here.”

 

Kit opened her eyes and looked up at Ahtu. 

 

“Rey and her babies have also been uneasy.” Ahtu kept her eyes closed, but rolled her neck as she tried to release tension. 

 

Kit nodded. “Yes I have felt that. Her babies will be such strong Force users.”

 

“They already are, as much as an unborn child can be.”

 

“Have they tried to greet you yet?” Kit asked. “The littlest one, the one that sleeps most, they get so excited when my signature brushes by them.”

 

Ahtu smiled and finally opened her eyes. “Yes. Yes they do greet me. The little one will be so gentle. They remind me of Ben when I first met him. Or when Ben is focused on his paper writing.”

 

“I can’t wait to meet them properly.”

 

“These little beings will be the most beloved in the whole galaxy.”

 

Kit giggled. “They will be.” She frowned and stood. “Arashell?”

 

“Yes Missa Kitkit?” The little girl peeked around the doorway. 

 

“Couldn’t sleep either?”

 

“No sleep,” Arashell said slowly. She was trying to learn the language so diligently. “Heard talking.” She frowned and waved her hands in front of her chest, trying to find the word. 

 

“Curious?” Kit offered. To clarify, she put her hand to her ear to cup it and widened her eyes. 

 

Arashell nodded. 

 

Kit waved her over, and the girl dashed to sit with them on the porch furniture. 

 

“What is troubling your mind, little girl?” Ahtu asked, leaning to look around Kit. 

 

Kit shuffled. “Will...” she pointed to herself, “Arashell, I? Will I still belong to Missa Rey and Massa Ben after they babies?”

 

Kit threw her arms around the girl. “They will never let you go!” 

 

Ahtu nodded to the doorway. “Still awake, Ben?”

 

He came out into the open. “Can no one sleep tonight?” He tried to joke. He came to them and kneeled before the three. He held out a hand to Arashell. “Sweetheart,” he whispered. “We know what it feels like to be thrown away. We will never throw you away.”

 

She studied him. “Babies?” She asked.

 

Ben smiled. “We will need your help to make sure they feel loved, too. We need your help to teach them to love. When they come, they won’t be able to do anything. Someone else has to do everything for them. This means they will need so much attention. You are not a baby, and you can do so much for yourself. This means that we will expect you to do so. You are very strong and very intelligent. I expect to see you do amazing things, because you already have.”

 

Kit nudged the girl. Arashell nodded and took Ben’s hand. He tugged her into a hug. “You can belong with us as long as you want to,” he told her. 

 

“Forever?”

 

“Longer, if you’d like.”

 

“Longer.”


	32. Party Crasher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baby showers are the most boring party in the galaxy.

Rey shifted in her seat as the wookies around her oohed and ahhed and presented more gifts. Malla had told her such “baby showers” were customary, but Rey was getting fidgety and tired of having her belly touched again and again. Arashell was stacking the gifts in an intricate tower, and Kit was helping. Ahtu was beside Rey, patting her leg every so often to let her know that she wasn’t a fan of parties either. Peykah hovered near the doorway, arms crossed. Peykah had tied her lekku back with a shimmery ribbon, and Rey had told her how much she liked it when she first saw her come in. Leia was playing gracious host, taking note of who gave what so she could thank each one. When she saw Rey shift in her seat, yet again, she made her way to the table, gathered a small pile of sweets, and set them next to Rey to divert her attention away from her discomfort. Rey gave her a smile, put a cookie in her mouth, and set about opening the next gift of more infant clothing. Rose was enamored with each little article and toy. She had seen so few infants, and she was giddy at all of the celebration. 

 

The Force Bond connected, and Rey blinked. It had been so long since her and Ben had been apart long enough for the bond to happen, that she had forgotten that it still existed. He was holding a hand of Sabacc cards at the dessert table, from what Rey could see, and when the bond opened, he glanced over and gave her a grin. He set his cards down, and he walked over to her, disappearing and reappearing through large female wookies Who were so much taller than Ben. Another gift was pushed into Rey’s lap, and she started to pull the wrapping from it. 

 

“Are you doing alright, Sweetheart?” He asked. 

 

She pulled another set of onesies from the packaging, and replied silently through the Force, ‘tired.’

 

“Do you need me to save you?”

 

‘Please.’

 

“I’ll be right there.” 

 

Rey watched as he walked off, though he always stayed in her sight. She wondered again how the bond worked until another package was put in her lap and was revealed to be a set of ewok teddy bears, each with a different colored poncho. She glanced back up at Ben, who had stopped with his back to her, hand blocking sunlight from his eyes, face turned toward the sky. 

 

He was suddenly running, and the moment he came into view of the doorway, the bond closed. He crashed into Peykah and held her shoulders to keep her from falling over. “First Order ships entering atmosphere!” He announced. 

 

The wookie women started into a cacophony of roars and chaos. Ben pushed through them, pulling Rey to her feet and pressing a panicked kiss to her lips. He took her hand and reached for Arashell. She promptly took his hand, and he was dragging them out and down the stairs spiraling the tree trunks. Leia, Rose, and the female knights were right behind them. 

 

“Where are we going?” Rey asked, lamenting how slow she felt. 

 

“Underground storage bunkers.”

 

“We should get to the ship!” Kit shouted. 

 

“It is better for Rey not to go off world!” Ahtu insisted. “She should be safe.”

 

“I’ve already scouted it out!” Ben returned. “The ships were only just spotted breaking atmosphere. They haven’t even located us yet. As long as we are underground before they locate us, we will be able to hide.”

 

“How can you be sure?” Kit asked. 

 

“You’ll see!”

 

They had reached the ground and were booking it towards the base of a tree where a large door was built in. Ben let go of Arashell’s hand to wave the door open, revealing stairs heading down. Arashell slowed slightly, but Ben waved towards her, and misjudged the trajectory. Arashell flew threw the air and slammed into his back. 

 

“Hold on,” he shouted, stumbling slightly as the girl threw her arms around his shoulders and clung to him like a backpack. 

 

“Oniho and Chewie?” She asked. 

 

“They’ll meet us here. They know where we’re going. Chewie showed me this.”

 

“I can’t feel anything!” Peykah groaned. 

 

“The trees’ life Force is interfering with our perceptions,” Ahtu realized. 

 

“Which will keep us safe!” Rey concluded. 

 

“You’re so right!” Ben nodded, slowing his descent and paying attention to where the turn offs were. He took one, following a set of twisted roots set into the wall. They were only walking briskly now. “The roots of these trees are enough to mask our Force signatures and keep us from being detected.” He pushed open a door on hinges at the end of the hallway. 

 

The storage was simple and cool, but dimly lit. There was shelving with containers of food stuffs. Ben let Arashell slip down to the ground and went to a wall obscured from sight of the door by several shelves. He wiped dirt from a panel, leaned close, and punched in a code. The wall slid open. The room inside was a home decorated just like the other wookie homes they had seen. 

 

“Well, look at that,” Leia mused. 

 

“Usually chieftains,” Ben explained. “But Chewbacca has been a war hero enough to gain access to them.”

 

Ahtu nodded simply and turned to take up watch at the door. “Chewbacca is coming?”

 

Ben nodded. “Should be.”

* * *

Oniho, Finn, Chewbacca, Div, and Lumpawaroo peered out from behind tree trunks at the makeshift landing pad the First Order ship had created from a destructive landing. Chewbacca pushed Lumpawaroo forward, quietly whining at him. His son nodded and picked up Oniho and slung him over his shoulder, motioning for the others to follow. 

 

Div shook his head and took his saber from his belt. “I can help.”

 

Chewbacca sighed and shook his head. 

 

Lumpawaroo waved to Finn, and they moved as silently as they could away from the ships. 

 

Div and Chewbacca watched as the masked Knights of Ren disembarked. 

 

“Find the last Jedi,” the lead ordered through his vocoder. “Bring her to me alive, unharmed.” 

 

Two other knights dashed in separate directions. One sprinted up the steps of a tree. The other stayed on the ground, stalking and trying to sense the strong Force users. This was the one who noticed Div and Chewbacca. They ignited their lightsaber and dashed to engage them. 

 

Chewbacca took aim with his crossbow and fired a shot that was deflected simply. 

 

Div lit his own weapon and jumped into battle. He knew this knight, he had sparred with him before, and he knew his weakness. He matched blow for blow, feeling out for the weakness he always left open after a parry. 

 

Div was caught off guard, thrown to the side by the Force. He rolled to keep himself from breaking anything, but he felt the fear hit his chest. Belak Ren was marching towards him. 

 

“Where is she?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“You do not.” Belak shoved him down to the ground with the Force, waving the other knight To place a saber to his throat. Belak turned to Chewbacca and forced the crossbow out of his paws and into the tree branch above him. “But the wookie does.”

 

Wookie shouts sounded above them, and crossbow fire rained down on them from every direction. Belak tried to deflect them, but the edge of his robes were singed. He retreated back to the ship, glowering at the downpour of plasma blasts as if it was only a rain shower. The knight holding a saber to Div’s throat was hit, and he fell forward on to Div. He pushed him off and scrambled back to Chewie. 

 

They dashed away in the commotion, but Belak eyed their retreat. The arms of the knight that had tried to ascend the trees were thrown at the base of the ramp of his ship, and Belak called the saber to his hand. It would not do to waste such a rare weapon. 

 

“Take off,” Belak ordered. “We will find a better opportunity.” 

 

The ramp closed, and the ship lifted into the air, zooming out of sight to triumphant Shyriiwook shouts. 

* * *

They were all playing the waiting game now. Belak Ren hovered just out of atmosphere, sending out scouts to try to infiltrate the wookies. Rey, Ben, and the others were laying low in the bunkers amidst the tree roots. The wookies were on high alert, keeping their villages safe. And all too soon, it became a waiting game for the babies to come. 

 

When Rey first felt false contractions, they were all thrown into a panic. They called for a midwife, and the wookie had been detained by one of Belak’s knights trying to prove themself. They were chased off, and the midwife made her way down into the tree roots, and laughed when she felt Rey’s stomach. The midwife shook her head, gave her a calming tea, and had explained to the rest the more telling signs. 

 

The tension grew, especially with so many in such close quarters. It was Rey and Ben and Leia and Arashell and Oniho and Kit and Div and Peykah and Ahtu and Finn and Rose and not nearly enough card games or fresh air. They knew it was getting bad when Rose yelled at Ben for stomping around too loudly. Chewbacca was in and out, checking in, bringing various supplies, letting them know the status of the ship that still orbited just out of sight. 

 

One month became two, and Rey finally knew the babies were coming. They were early, but from all her reading about multiple pregnancies, she knew that that was common enough. 

 

The pair of children were ushered into a lower storage room deeper in the planet with Finn and Div and Peykah and Malla who had come to visit, after she had retrieved the midwife again. Kit was eager to watch but at the first sight of blood, and Rey’s screams, she dashed off to join the others. 

 

The midwife had pointed at Ben, stating that he should be off somewhere out of the way. He growled at her, and he placed himself behind Rey, sitting behind her on the bed. Rey leaned against him, whimpering. Leia was nearby, offering a hand or a damp cloth as needed. Rose was a similar help as she obeyed the midwife’s orders. Ahtu stood at the doorway, staying on high alert. 

 

When Arashell poked her head in the doorway the next morning to ask if the babies had come yet, Ahtu shook her head and ushered her away. Arashell was about to complain, but Rey cried out again, scaring her. Ahtu shooed Arashell out and closed the door behind the both of them. 

 

“She’s going to be alright. It just hurts,” Ahtu tried to comfort.

 

The little girl’s pale face showed her worry. 

 

“Let’s get you back to the others.”

* * *

It took much of that day, that night, and the very early morning hours for the labor to bear fruit. Rey was exhausted and shaking and crying when the first came into the galaxy. 

 

The midwife cooed, and Leia repeated, “a girl.” 

 

Rey could not celebrate yet, pushing again, squeezing Ben’s hands. The cries of her daughter joined her own as Rose set about cleaning the newest life while the others helped Rey. 

 

“A boy,” Leia announced.

 

“One more, Sweetheart,” Ben whispered in her ear before pressing his forehead into her shoulder. He had done all he could to help, but he found that she was calmest with him right behind her, holding her close, breathing with her. 

 

The last came, and Leia repeated the midwife’s words, “another girl.”

 

Rey slumped back against Ben, sobbing, exhausted. “Where are they?”she managed to sob out. Leia was already bringing her the first, the oldest girl, already clean, already checked over. Rey took her in her arms, snuggling her against her chest, kissing her forehead. The boy was set in her other arm, and Leia helped her settle him against her chest as well. Rey pressed kisses to his forehead and his nose. The last little girl, Leia placed in Ben’s arms, and he was immediately lost in her. He cradled her close, staring at this little life they had created, he had protected, he had felt. He recognized her signature. This one was one who always moved to the front when he whispered to them in the middle of the night when Rey was fast asleep. He reached out through the Force, now able to put a face with each signature. The little boy on Rey’s chest was the quiet one, the one who slept while the others kicked and moved and kept Rey awake at night. Then the oldest girl by moments was the one who Ben recognized the most, the familiar flicker of light he felt when he had the Force reconnected in him, the signs of life that always greeted him when his wife greeted him. 

 

“They’re hungry, Rey,” Leia urged, setting a hand on Rey’s arm. 

 

Rey nodded. “Alright.” She shifted the infants so she could hand one to Leia and try to breast feed the other. 

 

“Do you have names for them?” Rose asked, peering over Ben’s shoulder. 

 

Rey glanced back at Ben and nodded as she tried to help their little girl to latch on. “This one is Hana, like Han.” Each a was pronounced just like the one in Han’s name. 

 

Leia looked up at Ben’s face. 

 

Ben nodded at his mother. “The boy will be Bail.”

 

Leia slowly took a seat, cradling the infant with her father’s name in her arms. 

 

Rey smiled. “And the other girl is Ani.”

 

Leia’s eyes flashed between the pair. 

 

“My decision, Leia, not Ben’s.”

 

Rose looked between the new parents and the grandmother. “I think those are wonderful names.”

 

Leia looked down at the baby in her arms, starting to fall asleep. “For wonderful children.”


	33. Being Torn Apart

 

Chewbacca wasn’t perturbed when he heard the sound of a crying child. He assumed that it was Oniho or Arashell who had grown bored or adventurous and run into trouble, but when he found the sobbing child wandering on the ground, he didn’t recognize him. He spoke softly to the child so he wouldn’t scare him, but he was a large wookie who only spoke in roars and grunts and whines of Shyriiwook, and the boy was very small and very scared. The boy most certainly did not speak Shyriiwook. The boy was most certainly not anyone he had seen before. The boy most certainly had never been to Kashyyk. He wore dark clothing, now covered in mud and foliage. He tried to speak to Chewie, but he couldn’t tell whether the boy was speaking common or an unfamiliar language or anything at all behind his sobs. Chewbacca patted the boy’s head, trying to calm him, and his paw came away with a splotch of drying blood. He tilted the boy’s head so he could see properly, and he decided that the scrape wasn’t as bad as it seemed, and it had probably come from a tree or a rock from the boy’s trip through the forest.

 

Chewbacca ushered the boy up to his treehouse where Malla was busy preparing food. He explained how he had just been wandering around on the ground. Malla set about cleaning the mud from the boy’s face and the blood from his hair. Chewbacca left, telling her that he’d be back soon.

* * *

 

The family in the bunker behind the storage rooms was taking what peace they could, trying to plan for when and how they’ll leave the planet. It was clear they weren’t safe there now that the Knights of Ren knew where their former master was. They tried not to ruminate on that. 

 

Ben was doting on each of his little children, teaching his older two how to dote on the newborn three. Oniho was insistent on teaching them to cross their eyes, and so far, Hana was the only one who wouldn’t cry at his attempts. They were only days old, but Rey knew which was which, always. Finn had to ask each time he held one. Rose was more enamored with the sight of Finn holding the infants, but she would blush and look away and busy herself with something else. 

 

Ben never put a child down willingly. He would only pass one off when another needed attention or when his darling wife insisted that he needed sleep too and take the child into her own arms. 

 

Rey was grateful for so much help. She hadn’t fully recovered, but it was more from not getting enough sleep than anything. She didn’t want to stop staring at her little children, memorizing each little mark and wrinkle and mannerism that each little person had. She knew each one so intimately, it astounded Rose. Rey knew the two little girls apart like night and day. 

 

“Hana has the darker eyes, like Ben’s,” Rey told Rose, “and the little freckles across her shoulder. Ani has a little freckle next to her belly button,” and Rey pointed to the little dot next to the little girl’s still healing belly button. “And Ani doesn’t like to sleep. She fights it.”

 

“Not like Bail,” Rose smiled. The baby boy was fast asleep in the crook of his father’s arm.

 

Rey nodded. “And I always need to wake him up to feed him,” she said, more to remind herself than anything. She handed Ani to Rose, glancing over at Hana in Leia’s arms who was blinking at Oniho’s funny faces. She held out her arms to Ben. He smiled and pulled her into a hug. “I meant Bail,” she laughed. 

 

The door to the storage opened, and Chewbacca waved to all of them. He waved Ben over who reluctantly placed Bail in Rey’s arms and went to the Wookie. 

 

“A boy?” Ben repeated Chewie’s report. Chewie gestured about waist high. “Definitely a boy child. And...?”

 

Chewie whined softly. 

 

“Boy tall as me?” Oniho asked behind Ben. 

 

“You shouldn’t be listening in,” Ben warned, but Chewie confirmed. 

 

“Can I come...see?”Oniho asked, forming the words carefully. 

 

“You just want out of the bunker,” Ben said with a raised eyebrow. 

 

“You also Benlo.” Oniho had once heard a very sleepy Finn call Ben ‘Benlo Renlo’ and Benlo had stuck in the little boy’s head. 

 

Ben folded his arms, weighing options. “Do as I say and you can come.”

 

Oniho grinned and nodded, immediately stepping to Ben’s side. 

 

“Quickly,” Ben said to Chewie. “The sooner we’re back, the better.”

* * *

 

Ben and Oniho followed Chewbacca into his tree house, and Oniho’s face lit up when he saw the boy sitting at Malla’s table. 

 

“Temiri!” He shouted, running and tackling the boy. He started chattering in their native language. 

 

The boy, Temiri, was crying and shaking his head. He was trying to make out words but his sobs caught them in his chest. 

 

Ben knelt beside them and set a hand on the sobbing boy’s back. “Are you alright?”

 

Temiri looked at him, and his eyes locked onto his scarred face. His chest trembled as he tried to breathe to calm himself down. He shook his head. 

 

Oniho asked a question in their shared language. 

 

The boy’s response was slow between sobs and frantic breathing. 

 

Oniho frowned, and he looked at Ben. “He says he will be killed by a Ren.”

 

Ben frowned in return. 

 

The boy curled around himself, holding his stomach. “Can’t, I can’t, I can’t,” he chanted to himself, crying harder. 

 

“You can’t what?” Ben asked, trying to be soft, but the anxiety of the boy was seeping into his own soul. 

 

Temiri put his face in his hands, hiding his anguish. 

 

Ben looked up at Malla and Chewie. Malla whined softly, informing him that Temiri had not stopped crying since they found him, and he wouldn’t even eat. Malla waved a paw at the plate with untouched food at the table. 

 

Ben nodded, and he suddenly recognized the feeling the boy was projecting into the Force. It was the same feeling he had had when he had thrust his saber through his father’s chest. This little boy was being torn apart, and his tender little heart was screaming out for help. Ben pulled Temiri into his arms, holding him tightly, one arm around his body, his other hand holding his head to Ben’s chest. 

 

Ben reached out with the Force, finding the anguish, and letting this boy know that he knew what he was feeling. 

 

“You are not lost,” Ben whispered. “You are not too far gone.”

 

Fear stoked the little boy’s heart, and Belak Ren’s mask leered into his mind’s eye. _Failure_ , the voice rasped, _death, weakling._

 

Ben’s own anger was stoked. He tightened his hold on the little boy and found the tendrils of Belak’s influence and started to rip his hold from Temiri. 

 

Temiri cried out, clutching at Ben’s arms and chest. “He’ll kill me!” Temiri shouted. “I fail! I failed!” 

 

Oniho was backing up in fear, and Chewbacca put a comforting paw on his shoulder. 

 

Temiri started to thrash, trying to get out of Ben’s arms. “Let me let me let me.”

 

“You’re safe Temiri,” Ben insisted. “I’ve got you.”

 

“No no no no no.” The boy was ruffling in his dark clothes, almost like he was trying to tear himself free from his own skin. His hands found the hilt of his training saber and time slowed. Ben was hyper aware of Temiri fighting within himself whether he was going to do what he was sent to do or if he was going to fail. Temiri’s thumb found the ignitor, and Ben froze the child in his arms. Ben held the child tight and caused him to lose consciousness like he had done with Rey so long ago. The child went limp. Ben took the saber from Temiri’s hand and pocketed it. He stood, the boy still in his arms. 

 

“He was sent to kill us,” Ben said softly. “He couldn’t. It was tearing him apart.”

 

Oniho shook his head. “Temiri can’t kill...”

 

Ben shifted Temiri in his arms. “He could not.” He looked back to Chewie. “What are we going to do with him? We can’t let Belak have him back. He is ours now.”

 

 


	34. Watching Overhead

Ben studied the unconscious boy. He looked so small now that was asleep and laid on the wookie sized couch. 

 

“Tell me about Temiri?” He asked Oniho. 

 

Oniho told how Temiri had been with him as long as he could remember and how he never showed any adults, but he could move things with his mind as easily as with his hand. Temiri wasn’t the leader of them, that was Arashell, but Temiri was their hope. He was the one who would say that one day they would run away to the Resistance. He believed himself to be the next Luke Skywalker. 

 

When the Knights came, he knew this was his chance to learn the Force. 

 

Ben sighed. For months he had felt a pull to Canto Bight. He had thought that it was because he wanted to watch his Sweetheart sparkle there. He had never supposed that it was because he was supposed to care for this boy. If he had gone there, if they had spent less time anywhere else, would they have found Temiri before Belak had?

 

“I need to get back to Rey. Oniho, will you stay with Temiri and Chewie?”

 

Oniho nodded, plopping onto the couch. 

* * *

”Another one?” Rey asked, looking down at Hana who she was feeding. 

 

“Force user. The one Belak took.”

 

“And he was sent to kill us?”

 

“Couldn’t do it. He couldn’t stop crying.”

 

“With a training saber?”

 

Ben turned the training weapon in his hands. It was much too small for his hands but fit Temiri well enough. 

 

“Ben, you are thick.” Rey sighed. “Who would send a child, an apprentice, to kill anyone with a training saber?”

 

Ben stared at Rey. He stood and rushed out of the storage and through the hallways. As he slid around a corner, he was frozen. 

 

“You’ve been slippery, Solo,” Belak Ren greeted, voice low and raspy through his vocoder. 

 

“You sent a boy with a training saber to kill me.”

 

“No, I sent a failure to lure you out.”

 

“That boy is doing his best.”

 

“And still cries when he has to kill anything. Just like you, if I remember. Didn’t you cry when you killed your father?”

 

“I’ve left that life.”

 

“No you haven’t. You’re only hiding from it.” Belak marched towards him in thick boots. “And wasting so much potential.”

 

Ben trembled as he tried to break through the Force hold. 

 

“While you’ve been getting domestic with the Last Jedi, I’ve been honing my skills.” Ben felt his arm raise. “And you’re going to stay right there as I take your bouncing baby.”

 

Ben struggled again. “You monster.”

 

“As you once were.” Belak landed a swift fist to Ben’s gut. “Or shall I give you a trade. The little crybaby boy for yours.”

 

Ben was held up by the Force, though his muscles spasmed from the pain. 

 

“I feel like I should ask for a name, but it would be of no worth. It will be changed and the name you bestowed will never be uttered again.”

 

The hallway echoed with the sound a plasma blast. Ben’s eyes went wide at Lumpawaroo with a crossbow at the far end of the hallway. Belak was knocked off balance as the shot landed in his lower back. Ben was freed from the Force hold and tackled Belak Ren. 

 

“Could I actually kill you with a training saber?” Ben growled, igniting the blade. It felt so small in his hand. 

 

“Not if we kill you first.” Another masked knight announced. 

 

Lumpawaroo spun and fired. The knight was blown to their back. Ben heard running from the bunker, and Ahtu, Peykah, and Div pummeled into the hall, ready to fight. Ahtu jumped into the fight, throwing knights back, taking advantage of weaknesses she knew. Peykah was solemn as she stepped in, wishing for her mask. 

 

Div took to Ben’s side. “Are we killing him?” He asked. 

 

Ben forced the training blade through Belak’s chest plate. Belak yelled in pain. Training blades were not as lethal, but they still hurt and still caused damage. 

 

“Are you dead yet, Belak?”

 

“No, but you are, Solo.” Belak rasped. He had called his own saber to his hand from his belt and ignited it. 

 

Div cried out as he watched the red blade appear through Ben’s side and sliced his left arm away as Ben rolled away from the blade. He grimaced, trying to not go into shock. Belak stood, kicking Ben off of him. He stared down at the training saber in his own chest and pulled it straight out. Div swung at Belak, but he threw him back against the wall. Belak watched Div fall to the ground and tried to take his leave. He was frozen with the Force only steps away. 

 

“You missed,” Ben growled, his voice trembling. His left hand was gone, his side was sliced and cauterized. Through all of it, he was scrambling to his feet, ignoring the battle behind him, and he still had full control of his Force abilities. 

 

“You’ll be dead soon enough.”

 

“I’m not the one with a saber hole through the heart.”

 

“It did not pierce so deep,” Belak returned. “Our armor is better than that.”

 

“Is it?”

 

Ben lifted his hand, and he began to crumple the helmet around Belak’s head. Belak acted on instinct, pulling it off, revealing the hollow eyes of a desperate man. Moving down, Ben began to constrict the rest of Belak’s armor. He got no further than his arm guards before Belak drug the Force over Ben and made him unconscious. 

 

“Good riddance,” Belak growled, heading down the hallway he had watched the tracking beacon travel attached to Temiri’s training saber go down when they had begun this little game. 

 

The sound of battle quieted as he moved away, and his own struggling heartbeat grew louder. He knew the training blades muted when they came in contact with flesh. It would not do to have apprentices losing limbs every time they misjudged a strike. His chest still hurt from the stabbing. He took stock of his chest now that he had a moment. Straight in, but then again, his heart was not straight below his sternum. A grazing and nothing more. Belak chuckled. “I’ve won this time.”

 

He turned a corner, turning his attention back to his surroundings just in time to recognize the shock of blonde curls that bounded up to him before a true saber was thrust through his belly and dragged up through his chest, and he marveled at how his ribs snapped as his bodily functions finally shut down. 

 

Kit glowered at Belak’s now dead body as she pulled her saber from him. She had purposely held back, knowing that sometimes, danger made it through. She felt the dread in her chest as she reached out for her other knights. Div was unconscious. Ben was unconscious. Peykah and Ahtu were parrying valiantly. There was a wookie, Lumpy if she recalled, providing an interesting strategy of coverfire, distracting the enemy and yet not actually hitting any of them. The Knights of Ren were equally matched, though she found that these were ones she did not recognize. As she wiggled her way through their focus, she found that these were new, Force sensitives who had been given a saber and told to attack. They were young, hardly subadult. They were powerful. They were scared. And Kit began to pick at their weaknesses. She wiggled her way into their minds, distracting them. She used to do this with Ahtu, seeing who could get farther into the others mind. Kit always won.  She used that skill now, allowing her Ahtu and her Peykah to strike them down. 

 

There was only a few. The battle ended quickly. She rushed to aid in the aftermath. 

* * *

Chewbacca cried loudly as he lifted the unconscious Ben and Div into his arms to take them to the medbay. He had left Malla with Oniho and Temiri. 

 

Back up in the tree house, Temiri opened his eyes. He felt the weight on his soul. “There’s still a ship above us,” he whispered. 

* * *

”Ben!” Rey shouted, standing. She felt the pain in his side and his arm through the bond. 

 

Leia took her hand. “You can’t go. Your children need you.”

 

“He’s injured!”

 

“The Force will not let him leave you. I can feel it.”

 

 


	35. Dreams

“Since it was confirmed that Belak Ren was destroyed,” Ahtu continued her report, “the remaining force sensitives he had sought out formed a mutiny. The ship that they occupied was scouted out, and the only remaining Knight or apprentice was one who had been with the Knights of Ren from the beginning. He would not surrender, and he was killed. There are no other recorded Force Sensitives among their records that are alive, except for Temiri, who we are now watching over. The Knights of Ren are no more.”

 

Rey held her baby boy close to her chest and looked towards the door, wishing that Ben would walk through, unharmed. She had heard this all before, but the information still needed to make its way to the Resistance, where Poe Dameron was acting as General in Leia’s absence. This meeting was important. Rey just wished she could be with Ben instead. 

 

Ben was in an induced coma. He had already been fitted with a prosthetic for his now missing left arm. It was his side that was causing issues. His dietary tract had been seriously harmed, and the wookies had done what they could, but they had already requested a medic from the Resistance, who would be on their way once the meeting had been concluded. 

 

Finn stood, in his turn, and he began to set out the plan he and Ben and Leia had already set out about him being sent into the rubble of the First Order and re-educating storm troopers. Poe watched his friend’s face as this was laid before him.

 

Rey couldn’t stand this any longer and passed Bail to Leia’s arms. She left the meeting and went straight to the medbay. She didn’t realize how much Ben had become a part of her. They had become inseparable. She hated that he was unconscious, that he could not come and hold her, that his strong arm was not replaced with cold metal, that his side of their bed was empty, that their children were not in his arms, that he was injured. She paused at the chair she had sat in when she had first been allowed at his side, but it was late, and she missed him so much. She instead climbed up onto the cot, on his right side where his arm was still flesh, where his side was unharmed, where she could lay her cheek on the scar she had given him. He was fully unconscious, and she let herself slip off to join him.

* * *

The sunshine blinded Rey’s eyes at first, but it welcomed her to the edge of a field of yellow wildflowers. 

 

“You’re here,” Ben greeted. He took her hand and looked over the field with her. “I’ve missed you.”

 

“I’ve missed you.” Rey looked up at him as he looked down at her. His face was smooth and unscarred, and his moles shimmered in and out of focus.

 

“A dream,” he explained. 

 

Rey reached up and touched his cheek where his scar should be. It appeared and spiderwebbed up his face and down his neck, and each little mark found its place on his face and his neck. “There. You’re real, now.”

 

He grinned. “Was I not real before?”

 

She let her eyes travel over his. “You were, but not solid and clear,” she explained. She leaned closer and pressed a kiss along the scar on his neck, and then a kiss on his jaw, and then his cheek. “You weren’t marked as mine.”

 

She saw his face falter in awe of her. 

 

“It’s true,” she insisted, placing her hands on his chest as he placed his hands on her hips. Both were still flesh, his own. She was not ready to give those up yet, not in her dreams.”You are mine. You always will be. You always were.”

 

Ben kissed her nose. “How long until I can kiss you for real?”

 

“Once they fix your insides.”

 

“How are our babies?”

 

“They miss their daddy. Bail doesn’t sleep as well in my arms as he does yours. They miss your voice."

 

“I miss them.”

 

“Where are we?” Rey asked, waving back to the wildflower field.

 

Ben tugged her so her back was to the flowers, and she was facing a house. Little children’s faces peeked out of the windows. Berry vines and flower bushes nearly hid the front porch. Porgs were nesting beneath the bushes and on top of the roof. The Millennium Falcon could be partially seen from its place in the backyard. A speeder hovered off to the side. Arashell had grown a foot at least, and Temiri and Oniho had seemed to grow two, and their three little ones disappeared from the windows and dashed down to join the other three on the porch. She recognized Hana with all the haughtiness of her grandfather and her father in her confident little face and dark hair. She held a toy speeder. Bail looked just like his father, down to hiding his ears behind his hair. His eyes were Rey’s, and his demeanor was that of royalty. Ani was blonde and freckled, and she scooped a porg up into her arms. She reminded her of Luke, of all people. Temiri scooped Ani and her porg up onto his shoulders, and the rest dissolved into a playful chase.

 

“That’s really them, isn’t it?” Rey whispered.

 

“This is what you saw?”

 

“Just the shape, the falcon, the flowers, the feeling,” Rey answered. She looked up at him. “You turned.”

 

“Not away from the First Order, not towards the Resistance, but to you,” Ben confirmed. 

 

Rey tugged on his collar. “I knew you would.”

 

He gave a cocky grin. “Because of you.” He leaned and kissed her properly. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Traitorous is going on hiatus. 
> 
> I have a fic I've been trying to get sorted out and written since Halloween last year, and I want it out by Halloween this year. Keep an eye out for it.
> 
> Traitorous will return after that. There are some loose ends to tie up, the little bit of plot to finish off, a bit of a time skip, some more fluff, actually there's a lot of fluff. But I need to focus on this other fic, so there's gonna be some radio silence from me. 
> 
> Thank you all for all of your support! I am absolutely floored at how much praise you've given it!   
> While I'm away writing other things and you're waiting for that, if you haven't read my other fics, I highly recommend them. Go read "Broken Hearts and Healing Hands", I think you'll like that. All of my short fics are all really fluffy, and you'll love those. 
> 
> As always, Thank you so much for all of your Kudos, Comments, Bookmarks, and Subscriptions! They mean SOOOOO much to me! I love reading and rereading your comments. They inspire me!
> 
> And if you want to follow me on tumblr, my reylo blog is pulltothelight.tumblr.com
> 
> Lots of love! See you soon! You are all so incredibly amazing!  
> Love  
> -Klover


	36. Life Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey's first Life Day is coming up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Traitorous is off hiatus! I've got a few projects going at once, and holidays are coming up, so updates won't be as frequent as they were before, but I'm back on this! Man, I've missed it!
> 
> Also, when I looked up Life Day, the dates were split between November 17th and December 25th, so have a happy Holiday.

Life had been put on a strange pause, where time seemed to keep going, but nothing was happening. Leia and Rose and Finn had to leave to return to the Resistance. Ben was still in an induced coma until the Resistance medics could reach Kashyyk. Rey and their triplets and the three children and the Knights of Ren filled Chewbacca’s home, but there was a thick sense of solemnity over them all. Hana and Ani and Bail were still so young and needed so much attention, but there was always a set of hands ready to help. It was one of these moments where each infant was cradled in a set of loving arms, and the other children, Arashell, Temiri, and Oniho, were busy with a card game, and the rest of those around her were busy with some task or other that Rey felt a loneliness again. It had been so long since she had been alone, and now she never truly was, but her heart called out to the man who knew her soul as well as she knew his. She felt tears well up in her eyes, and she took a moment to excuse herself. 

 

Her feet knew the way to Ben in the medbay. She asked the wookie on duty how he was doing, and he responded that there was no change. Then, the wookie asked a question that Rey was unfamiliar with. What would she be doing for Life Day?

 

She hadn’t properly heard of Life Day before—it certainly wasn’t celebrated on Jakku—but she let the wookie nurse tell her all about the traditions. Trees were decorated with lights. The wookies wore red robes. There was food and candles and singing. There were presents. There were fireworks. Then, the wookie told her of how the purpose was to remember how precious life was, to remember the dead who have passed into the Force, to honor new life. She found herself in tears again. 

 

“It sounds so beautiful.” She felt embarrassed at blubbering so much at the holiday.

 

The wookie patted her head and told her to take all the time she needed and left her to sit with Ben.

* * *

Rey had Ani held tight in her arms, and she was listening to Ahtu hum a lullaby to Bail.

 

“I don’t know any lullabies,” Rey lamented.

 

Ahtu nodded. “I only know a few. This one I learned from Master Skywalker.”

 

Rey sat up straight. 

 

“He told me his Aunt Beru would sing it to him. I never learned the words.”

 

Rey nodded, but she tried to memorize the tune. She had been thinking more and more about what the wookie nurse had told her about Life Day, about honoring the dead and new life. Malla had already started putting up lights to decorate. Rey thought about all the legends who were with the Force, and how she cradled three gorgeous children in her arms every day, and how she watched over the children from Canto Bight, and how the knights had killed so much, but were now dedicated to the precious new life. 

 

Div rapped on the doorway, pulling Rey from her thoughts. “Resistance ship approaching. Medics aboard.”

 

Rey nodded, standing. “Is Hana still asleep?” she asked. Ahtu leaned over to check at the child in the bassinet. At the nod, Rey asked, “Do you mind watching Bail and Hana? I’ll take Ani with me to greet them and then be right back.”

 

Ahtu smiled understandingly and nodded for her to go. Rey heard her begin back into humming as she left. 

 

Rey wrapped Ani tight in her wraps that she wore around her chest. She had used them as tools and to keep sand from her face and for warmth, but now, she adored wrapping her babies in them to keep them tight against her heart. 

 

She and Div waited at the landing pad for the ship to finally touch down, and the wind the ship caused made little Ani sniffle and fidget and whine. Rey ran her hand over the downey hair, and set her other hand over one of Ani’s ears. She reached out with the force to gauge Ani’s temperament, and she found that the infant was already reaching back to Rey. She pressed a kiss to the top of Ani’s head, and she looked back up to the ship. 

 

Two medics were disembarking, and a small orange Maz was following behind.

 

“Maz!” Rey cried out.

 

“It is good to see you, Rey!” she greeted. “And your little baby. I thought you might need a hand.”

 

Div was already leading the medics where they needed to go, and so Rey was left to tell Maz about everything since she and Ben had made the pitstop back at Takodana. They made their way up to Chewbacca’s home, where she gave the wookie a wink and made a friendly joke to Malla and then doted on each of the triplets. Having Maz there leading up to Life Day was a much needed distraction. She knew how to keep Rey’s mind busy when she would normally be worrying about Ben. Before they all knew it, it was Life Day eve, and Maz was ushering a very tired Rey to bed, insisting that she had Hana and Ani and Bail.

* * *

“Wake up, Sweetheart.”

 

“Where are we tonight?” Rey murmured, leaning into the warmth in the cool morning air.

 

“I’m awake.”

 

Rey’s eyes flew open to a weary looking Ben sitting on the edge of her bed. She sat up and threw her arms around him, and he groaned. “You’re awake. You’re awake.” She kissed his cheek and his neck and his bare collarbone.

 

“Sir,” a breathless medic interrupted from the doorway. “You really shouldn’t be out of bed yet.”

 

Rey peeked over Ben’s shoulder. 

 

“He didn’t listen to me. As soon as he woke up, he was asking about you,” the medic explained. “I turned my back, he was gone.”

 

“You’re so thick,” Rey whispered, taking inventory of Ben. His left arm was missing at mid-bicep, though cleanly healed now. He hadn’t put on a shirt or a cowl or anything, showing the bandages wrapped around his waist. His scarred skin looked more pale than normal.

 

“I missed you,” Ben insisted, running his remaining right hand over her cheek. His speech was slurred, but he was so tender in his touch. “Where are our babies?”

 

“Asleep. And you should probably be, too.” Rey nudged him away. “Let’s get you back.” She slid herself out of bed to help Ben up to his feet.

 

“Careful. He is medicated,” the medic informed her, rushing to Ben’s other side to make sure that he wouldn’t fall. “I think I miscalculated his mass, not quite enough to keep him asleep.”

 

Rey smiled.

 

“I don’t need sleep,” Ben told him, though he allowed both of them to steady him as he walked back outside. “I need Rey, and my children, and my mother.”

 

“You’re up!” Maz greeted from her seat on the balcony. “It’s a Life Day miracle!” Rey could hear the teasing in Maz’s voice, but she teared up all the same.

 

“Today’s Life Day?” Ben murmured, looking down at Rey. “Happy Life Day, Sweetheart. I didn’t get you a present.”

 

“You are all I wanted.”


	37. Life Day part 2

Rey spent the early morning of Life Day curled against Ben in his cot while the medics told them how he was healing. He was still medicated, but he understood well enough. Within the hour, Maz and Ahtu were bringing their triplets to them. 

 

When Ben saw them, he broke into tears. “They’re beautiful,” he whispered. “They’re so full of light.” 

 

Rey took Ani and settled the fussy infant on his chest. Ben set his hand tenderly on her head, running his thumb over her soft light hair. He stared at Ani, and she settled into his heartbeat, calming at the familiar sensation she had certainly missed. 

 

Rey began to feed Bail, and smiled at Hana snuggled up to Ahtu. She marveled at how Ahtu had been terrifying and vicious, but she was so loving and gentle with Rey’s babies. 

 

“She missed me,” Ben whispered. “She’s reaching out and she missed me. Not with words. She’s so pure.”

 

Maz chuckled. She pulled a communicator from her pocket. “I think your mother needs to know you’re awake.”

 

Ben looked over at her, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I need to see her.”

 

Maz smiled and put in Leia’s personal comm link. 

 

Ben put his hand below Ani and scooted her up his chest so he could press soft kisses to her forehead. 

 

The comm connected, and Leia greeted Maz. 

 

“Your son is awake, and he wants to talk to you.”

 

Leia’s face came clear into the holo, and Ben nearly sobbed. 

 

“I love you, Mom,” he insisted, snuggling his baby close, tears still on his cheeks. 

 

“Oh, Ben. I know,” she said softly. “It’s so good to see you awake.”

 

“They said it’s Life Day,” he told her. “Happy Life Day.”

 

Leia laughed and beamed. “Thank you. Happy Life Day.”

 

At her grandmother’s voice, Ani wiggled, looking for her. Ben picked her up and gently turned her head to look at the holo. “Happy Life Day, Ani.”

 

“She’s gotten so big,” Leia cooed. 

 

“They miss you,” Rey said, moving to pat Bail’s back. “We all do.”

 

Leia smiled and nodded. “I miss you, too.” She leaned forward. “Finn just left to begin his mission. He asked me to let you know.”

 

Rey nodded. “Was he doing alright?”

 

“As well as a man could be walking into hell.”

 

“If anyone harms Finn, they’re going to pay,” Ben promised.

 

“Ben, you’re drugged, Sweetheart,” Rey scolded. “You’re not getting involved anytime soon.”

 

“He is a good soldier. He doesn’t deserve this. He deserves metals and fame and—“

 

“And when did you think so highly of the traitor?” Ahtu cut off. 

 

“When I became a traitor myself.”

 

Ahtu laughed and brought Hana over to him who was stirring awake. 

 

“My Hana!” He greeted. “So bright! So strong!” He snuggled her close to her sister. “My little girls.”

 

“Ben, you have become a lovely father.”

 

He looked up at the holo of his mother. “I love them. They’re mine to protect. They need me to take care of them.”

 

Rey settled Bail into his arms, and she picked up Ani to feed, and Ben reached out to Rey. 

 

“Why are you crying?” He asked, confused. 

 

“You.”

 

“What did I do?”

 

“Reminded me that you love me.”

 

“How can you forget?”


	38. Four Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s been peaceful for the Solo clan, letting them begin to build a happy life for themselves on Nara 7 like they dreamed. But dreams aren’t always happy.

“Mama,” a little sobbing voice stirred Rey from her sleep. A pair of ancient brown eyes stared back at her, filled with tears. Bail’s eyes were just like his father’s, gorgeous and much too solemn for such a young child. He reached his chubby little arms toward her, asking her to console him. He and the girls were just four years old, and mainly communicated through the Force. Rey worried that they didn’t talk much yet, but Ben would shrug and remind her how most of their company were force sensitive themselves. “Mama,” Bail repeated. 

 

She pulled him up onto their bed and snuggled him close. “Why are you up so early?” She whispered, pressing little kisses to the top of his head. 

 

“Dream,” he mumbled through his tears, burying a running nose into her sleep tunic. 

 

“Bad one?” She asked. He nodded, running snot over her shoulder. “Can I see?” 

 

He furiously shook his head. 

 

“Can you tell me?”

 

He shook his head again, his tears starting up again. 

 

She rubbed his back. “I’m sorry. You know, Daddy has nightmares, too, sometimes. He will know what to do.”

 

Rey felt his panic through the Force, and Ben’s face came into her mind, but it was partially obscured by a shattered version of Kylo Ren’s mask. 

 

“Where did you see that?” 

 

“Dream.”

 

Rey turned but found the other side of the bed empty and cold. “Let’s go get you breakfast.”

* * *

The moment her little boy was concerned with the pieces of toast in front of him, Rey was heading towards Ben’s office. They had returned to Nara 7 once any imminent threat was gone, along with the remaining Knights of Ren, and they had built up their home from dreams and visions. The knights had built up their own homes nearby, and the community was colloquially called the Jedi Courtyard by the villagers. It was no mystery that the newcomers were all force sensitive. The following years had been peaceful on Nara 7, so far away from the war. Rey loved her life here with her family. She could almost pretend that she and Ben were just a normal couple in love with their children. 

 

Ben’s office door was ajar, and a news holo was being played. Such a deep despair hit her chest, emanating from Ben, and she paused. 

 

Ben felt her presence and was up and opening the door and pulling her into his arms. 

 

“What is it?” She whispered. 

 

He brought her inside and shut the door. He waved a hand at the holo, sending it back to the beginning of the report. Finn’s face flashed and disappeared as it rewound. 

 

“No,” she breathed. 

 

“A traitor has been found among high ranking First Order officers. A former storm-trooper himself, FN-2187,” the reporter explained, “has been found to be responsible for the mass revolts by storm-trooper divisions that have been occurring since the fall of the Supreme Leaders.” 

 

Finn’s face reappeared on the holo, and Rey’s heart cried at the black eye and swollen lip he sported in the mugshot. 

 

“The traitor is due for execution—.”

 

Rey turned it off. “No!” 

 

Ben hugged her tight again. 

 

“He was supposed to be out by now! He had an out! What happened!”

 

“Mitaka let me know earlier. He is under suspicion as well.”

 

“How were they found out?”

 

Ben’s grip on her tightened. “There have been Resistance aligned subadults signing up for First Order service aiming to topple what’s left. One recognized Finn and blew his cover.”

 

“Who’s kriffing idea was that?”

 

“Take a guess.”

 

“Poe.”

 

“Mama,” Bail’s little voice called as he tapped on the door. 

 

“Oh, one moment baby,” she called. “Go get dressed?”

 

His little affirmation brushed her mind as he took off back to his room. 

 

“Ben, Bail had a nightmare he wouldn’t show me,” she said worriedly, already shoving what he did show her into Ben’s mind. “He’s never seen your mask, Ben,” she worried. “He only projected that when I told him you have nightmares, too.” 

 

Ben pressed his forehead to Rey's, closing his eyes. "I don't know, Sweetheart. Is he afraid of me?"

 

Rey nodded. “What do we do? What would you have wanted your parents to do when they found out about the nightmares?”

 

He shook his head. “Kept me close. Not send me away.”

 

“We’ll never send him away from us. None of them.”

 

“Never.” He kissed her forehead and let her go. “But Bail doesn’t have nightmares, Sweetheart. He never has. That’s always been Hana.”

 

“She’s so brave,” she sighed, reaching out and taking his hand in hers. “Should we show him? Should we tell them who you used to be?”

 

“Not so young.”

 

“How old?”

 

He shook his head. “We will come to that when we come to that.” He glanced back to the holoreader. “Before we comfort Bail, what should we do about Finn?”

 

Rey set her forehead against his shoulder. “We left that life, Ben. We have...”

 

“We will hate ourselves if we could have done something.”

 

“What can we do? If we die...”

 

“They’re not alone. They never will be.”

 

“It’s not fair to leave them.”

 

“Then we’ll come back.”

 

Rey felt tears in her eyes. “You can’t promise that, Ben.”

 

“They’re waking up, Rey. Let’s take care of Bail, let them all know we love them.”

 

“What about the older ones? They’ll hear about Finn.”

 

“And we’ll let them know we’re doing what we can.”

* * *

Rey gathered their baby boy onto her lap, and Ben sat beside them on Bail’s low bed. “Mommy said you didn’t want to show her your dream? That sounds like a scary dream, Bail.”

 

Bail nodded and fiddled with the buttons on his pockets. 

 

“Was it about me?”

 

Bail nodded slowly. He showed his father the image of the shattered mask obscuring his angry face. 

 

“That is scary. Have you ever seen that mask before?”

 

Bail nodded slowly. “Dream.”

 

“Were these scary dreams, too?” Rey ran her thumb over the edge of his chin where a bit of breakfast was making him sticky. 

 

Bail shoved his fear at them, trying to express it the best he could. “Scared. Not Daddy.”

 

“No, that isn’t Daddy, is it?” Rey nodded. “Daddy is different.”

 

“Love me.”

 

Ben quirked the corner of his mouth at the simple statement in Bail’s little words. “I do love you.”

 

Bail looked up at him and wiggled off Rey’s lap to climb onto Ben’s. He set his hands on Ben’s cheeks to bring his forehead to his own, their invitation to look. 

 

Ben closed his eyes to focus on the dream his little boy was showing him. It was chaotic and loud. Bail was neither chaotic nor loud. Ben’s face took up his view, his mask partially covering the side of his face without the scar. It was angry and terrifying. Shouts sounded. Snow. It was snowing, but it was hot. His red saber clashed against blue. Rey’s distressed face came into view. They parried, and her saber sliced his scar into his face, red and angry. 

 

Rey’s eyes widened, peeking in through their bond. “You dreamt this?” She whispered, horrified. 

 

Bail nodded, eyes still closed, keeping his forehead against his father’s. “Not Daddy.”

 

“Ben?”

 

“They’re not his dreams,” he murmured. 

 

“What do you mean, not his dreams?”


	39. No One's Ever Really Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bail means well.

“Whose dreams are they, Ben?” Rey repeated, setting a hand on his elbow, his real arm. The other arm, the mechanical prosthetic covered in synth flesh, was cradling little Bail close. 

 

“He should be gone.” There was a hoarseness, a fear to his voice that she hadn’t heard in a long time. 

 

It captured her own soul, sending fear and anger through her immediately. “We destroyed…him”

 

“We did. The dreams…they are from…”

 

“Snoke,” Bail’s little voice filled in.

 

Rey pushed herself from Bail’s low bed to the floor in front of Ben and Bail, and she put herself between Ben’s legs to hug both Ben and Bail tightly. She pressed her forehead to Bail’s head. “Tell us what you know, Bail.”

 

Bail told them all he knew the best way he knew, through the Force. The signature that he shared was certainly Snoke’s signature, but it was faint and unreal, like an echo, like a holo, like a reflection. The vision of Snoke that appeared was the one just before Ben Solo had killed him in the throne room so many years before. It was wrapped up with a vision of Ben holding his saber to Rey’s chest, Snoke’s words narrating how Ben was turning his weapon to aim true. The sound of the saber igniting filled Bail’s little mind, and his sight went dark, and Bail’s face twisted with tears. 

 

‘I am the one who bridged your minds,’ Snoke’s voice reverberated between them all, not quite real, not far enough away for comfort. ‘This life that came from that belongs to me.’

 

“Not me,” Bail whispered. “Not mean me.”

 

“They’re not your dreams,” Ben nearly choked. “Where are the girls?”

 

Rey was already running to the room the little girls shared down the hall right between their parents’ and Arashell’s rooms. The door slid open at her bidding, and Ani snuffled in her top bunk. She rolled over to look blearily at her panicked mother, her blonde curls stuck at every angle, and she grimaced at her mother’s anxiety flooding the Force around them. Hana’s bunk beneath Ani was empty except for the little stuffed speeder she carried everywhere. 

 

“Where’s Hana?” Rey sobbed, throwing a wave through the force to raise anything Hana could hide under to be sure she wasn’t there. Rey tugged Ani to her chest with the Force, holding her tight, promptly turning and banging on Arashell’s door. She waited for no response before she entered. Arashell was tying her hair back and stood when Rey barged in. “Hana’s missing.”

 

Arashell nodded. “Not in here. I’ll get the boys.”

 

In moments, the house was filled with shouting and clatter looking for the four year old girl, except for Bail’s room where Ben held his baby boy tight.

 

Bail was sharing all the dreams his sister had shared with him with his father. They were scenes from the war they had never seen. They were moments of Ben’s pain and humiliation. They were moments of Rey on Jakku. They were repeated moments of Kylo Ren killing his own father. They were Kylo Ren in anger and hatred. They were Rey in pain. They were Rey in the interrogation room. They were Hana’s little voice telling Bail to “Not tell. Not real. Not Papa. Not Mama.” 

 

“Hana’s scared,” Bail whispered. 

 

“Why didn’t she tell us?” Ben rubbed his forehead against Bail’s. 

 

“Snoke said not to.”

 

“Where is she?” Ben pleaded. 

 

Bail frowned, looking for her signature. He shook his head. “Can’t feel Hana.” He put his chubby little hands on his father’s cheeks to wipe tears away. “Scared, too.” 

 

“She’s not in the house,” Rey shouted up the stairs, dragging him out of his brief mourning. 

 

Ben was up to join the search, swinging Bail so that he would cling to his back. 

* * *

Hana was nowhere to be found: not in their homestead, not seen by any of the knights, nowhere in the village. No one had seen her. Everyone joined the search. Someone always held one of the remaining triplets’ hands, making sure that they were also kept safe, though they insisted on joining the search as well as little four year olds could.  

 

Ben was headed back to their home late that night, heart heavy, seeking out any disturbances in the Force. He paused in their backyard. The Falcon was parked off to one side, and he thought through each hidden compartment that he had already checked. There were no life forms aboard, except for a family of porgs. Ani had named each one. The rest of the backyard was filled with Rey’s plants. They were beautiful and thriving and completely obscuring the back side of their home. 

 

This is where he found Rey, curled up next to their back door, between blackberry bushes and flowering vines. Her sobs were soundless and muffled by rough tears, and Ben joined her in her hiding space, pulling her onto his lap. 

 

He had no words, and so he opened up his soul to her, welcoming her to share her own pain that echoed in his own soul. Their little girl was gone without a trace except for cryptic nightmares she had shared with her brother that seemed to have been given her from some rogue sliver of the monster they had believed to have destroyed again and again. They had been at peace. They thought that he was gone. And once again, Snoke had returned to destroy their lives. 

 

Their tears mingled on each others’ cheeks, mirroring how their pained souls twined together. 

 

The back door opened, casting light out onto the dark backyard. 

 

They heard Ani’s sniffling, and Temiri grunted as he shifted his hold of her on his hip. “We can feel you, Ben, Rey. It’s making us cry, too.”

 

Rey stood and took her children in her arms. Temiri was nearly as tall as Rey, now, and she set her forehead against his. Ani leaned against her mother’s shoulder, leaving wet spots from her tears. Another set of arms wrapped around them, and Ben cradled them all close to his beating heart. 

 

“We’ll find her.”


	40. Force Ghosts and All They Do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh what inspiration new content brings! I’m super excited for the new trailer and it inspired some more plot for this fic!
> 
> I didn’t mean to go on hiatus so long. The past few months have been busy. And my mental health has been up and down and that’s no good for regular writing, you know. Hopefully I can get this wrapped up. Give it the resolution it needs. Fingers crossed I can get it done before epix comes out. 
> 
> Sorry this chapter is kinda abstract. It will get all cleared up and it didn’t go where I was planning, but it ended up how it was supposed to.

The moment word got to the Resistance that Finn had been exposed and was due for ”extermination,” Rose was tracking down Poe and Leia. She stormed through their base, somewhere deep in a jungle planet, well hidden in the outer rim, and she took the time to notice that their numbers had grown significantly, filled with volunteers and defected stormtroopers. They were everywhere. That brought her focus back to Finn, in the clutches of the First Order, scheduled to die. 

 

The central command room was buzzing, as it always was, and Leia was nowhere to be seen. Poe, though, was already sending out orders for an attack on the First Order ship Finn was aboard. He had been promoted. Leia couldn’t lead forever. She had been sure to keep a close eye on him as he rose through ranks, but he had calmed slightly over the years, somehow gradually learning that hopping in a cockpit and blowing something up was not always the correct course of action. 

 

“What’s the plan?” Rose barked at Poe.

 

Poe glanced at her as he finished ordering a squadron out. “Save Finn. Destroy the ship.”

 

“We can’t get there in time. I’ve run the numbers, had droids run the numbers, there is no possible way to get there.” Rose felt her nails dig into the palms of her hands. It made her feel grounded, in the moment.

 

“We have closer allies who are going to help,” Poe let her know, though his eyes told her that he knew already, that he was looking for options, that he was struggling with the prospect of losing Finn, too. “We’re hoping that will give us more time to get in from the Outer Rim.”

* * *

Leia was scared on two counts, for Finn about to die and for her missing granddaughter. She found herself so removed from all of it. Poe was taking care of the resistance, taking care of rescuing Finn. Her son and his family and his knights were searching for her granddaughter. And she was sitting in her chambers, an old woman, useless. And of all things she was doing, she was trying to meditate. She had seen Luke so long ago meditate. She had believed it to be useless and a waste of time. Now, it was all she could do. 

 

She wished now that she had sought out training for herself. She knew the Force would intervene when necessary. She was alive because of the Force. She had no idea how to consciously control it. 

 

“Relax Leia.”

 

“Luke.” She opened her eyes to find the same Luke as she had last seen him on Crait, except transparent, like a holo. He set a hand on her knee that she could not feel. “What do I do?”

 

Luke shook his head. “You were always the one to save our skins. You’ll know what to do.” He nodded to her. “Listen to the Force. It has always been with you.”

 

She raised an eyebrow at him. 

 

“Alright,” he said, raising his hands palms towards her. “I know how unhelpful Force Ghosts can be! Old Ben and Master Yoda gave me all sorts of cryptic messages in my day.” 

 

Leia smiled. “Do you know where she is? Hana?”

 

Luke shook his head. “I’ve searched. Wherever she is is clouded with darkness.”

 

Leia felt the anger fill her shoulders. 

 

“She will be found.”

 

“Before it’s too late? Before I have to watch what happened to Ben happen to her?”

 

Luke’s face turned stony. 

 

“I don’t blame you, Luke. It was Snoke. But I still hate myself that I wasn’t there to keep him safe, that I didn’t see what was happening to him until it was far too late.”

 

“Look at where he is now,” Luke encouraged. “He and Rey have balanced each other out. They have their family. They’re trying, and they’re happy.”

 

She did smile at that. 

 

“It’s their turn now to go on all these adventures. You’ve created a legacy of peace and hope, for all of them. They’re going to be just fine.” 

 

“It’s time to go, isn’t it?”

 

“The Force has plans for you.”

 

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

* * *

The moment Leia Organa passed into the Force, a ripple ran through everyone she had touched. Her son, cradling his wife, gasped as his heart ached and his soul cracked. His wife felt a new surge of tears flood down her cheeks. The Force Sensitives in the Galaxy paused at the passing of a great woman, looking towards the light, wondering what would come next. The Resistance base stuttered, hardly pausing to wonder at what suddenly felt missing. They would find her body laid peacefully on her bed that night, when C3-P0 would come to assist her evening routine. 

 

It was a tender mercy of the Force for this great power of hope to leave her body behind, a way for those who loved her to have a time of closure, to know she was gone. 

 

But no one is ever truly gone. Not really.

* * *

Within moments, the triplets were sobbing. They had felt it, too. The most alarming of the three was tiny Hana, sobbing her heart out, startling the whisps of an ancient soul trying to worm his way inside. 

 

Now, it wasn’t that Hana was the most disturbed of the three, it was that she disturbed those around her the most. Up til this point, she had been quiet and curious of the power she toddled after. This little girl was now absolutely screaming over the loss of her grandmother, making this powerful Force user cringe and sneer at the small child. 

 

“You will not touch her.”

 

At that, Hana truly calmed and held up her arms.


End file.
